Spring 2024 Calibration Maneuvers Begin Today

Today SDO will execute the EVE Field of View (at 1315 UTC, 9:15 am ET) and the HMI/AIA Flatfield (at 1630 UTC, 12:30 pm ET) calibration maneuvers. During these maneuvers SDO science data may be missing or blurred.

Momentum Management Maneuver (Delta-H) #49 today

SDO will execute Momentum Management Maneuver (Delta-H) #49 today. Between 1830 UTC (2:30 pm ET) and 1910 UTC (3:10 pm ET) science data may be missing or blurred.

Station Keeping maneuver #28 today

SDO will execute Station Keeping maneuver #28 today from 2315-2400 UTC (6:15-7:00 pm ET). During a maneuver SDO science data may be missing or blurred. These maneuvers are needed to maintain SDO's assigned position as it passes through the geostationary orbit belt.

Fall 2022 Calibration Maneuvers Begin

Today SDO will execute the EVE Field of View (at 1315 UTC, 9:15 am ET) and the HMI/AIA Flatfield (at 1630 UTC, 12:30 pm ET) calibration maneuvers. During these maneuvers SDO science data may be missing or blurred.

Comet Off-Point Test Today

Although a comet hasn't been seen in the SDO field of view since 2012, we are always waiting for the next comet to appear. Today we will run our comet off-point test to make sure we are ready for the rapid response that is necessary. Starting at 1800 UTC (2:00 pm ET) SDO will point up and to the left of the Sun's center for 15 minutes. We will then return to solar-center pointing and hold in inertial mode for 15 minutes, allowing the attitude control engineers to run further tests. By 1850 UTC (2:50 pm ET) SDO will return to normal science mode.

This test assures that the SDO Team will be able to point SDO at an incoming comet with a 24-48 hour notice from the Sungrazer Comet Watchers.

Station Keeping maneuver #25 is Today

SDO will execute Station Keeping maneuver #25 today from 2220-2300 UTC (6:20-7:00 pm ET). During a maneuver SDO science data may be missing or blurred. These maneuvers are needed to maintain SDO's assigned position as it passes through the geostationary orbit belt.

July 2022 Instrument Calibration Maneuvers

The July 2022 Instrument Calibration maneuvers are starting. During an instrument calibration maneuver SDO science data may be missing, blurry, or misaligned.

• 06 Jul 2022: EVE FOV and HMI/AIA Flatfield Calibrations (EVE FOV @ 1315 UTC (9:15-11:50 am ET); HMI/AIA Flatfield @ 1630-1910 UTC (12:30-3:10 pm ET))
• 20 Jul 2022: EVE Cruciform, 1400–1852 UTC (10:00 am - 2:52 pm ET)

The next HMI Roll maneuver has not yet been scheduled.

Momentum Management Maneuver (Delta-H) #44 Yesterday

SDO executed Momentum Management Maneuver (Delta-H) #44 yesterday. Between 1945 UTC (3:30 pm ET) and 2015 UTC (4:15 pm) on 22-Jun-2022 SDO science data may be missing or blurred.

Momentum Management Maneuver (Delta-H) #43 Today

SDO will execute Momentum Management Maneuver (Delta-H) #43 today. Between 1830 UTC (2:30 pm ET) and 1915 UTC (3:15 pm) SDO science data may be missing or blurred.

SDO Station Keeping Maneuver #24 today

SDO will execute Station Keeping maneuver #24 today from 2310-2340 UTC (6:10-6:40 pm ET). During a maneuver SDO science data may be missing or blurred. These maneuvers are needed to maintain SDO's assigned position as it passes through the geostationary orbit belt.

The Winter 2022 EVE Cruciform is Complete

Yesterday SDO performed an EVE Cruciform maneuver starting at 1400 UTC (9:00 am ET). During this maneuver the SDO spacecraft nods back and forth and up and down. The science images appear to move as well and can be blurry.

Over the next few days SDO will be supporting the validation of the PHI instrument on Solar Orbiter. PHI is similar to the HMI instrument on SDO. It uses the same spectral line of iron at 6173 Å to measure the line-of-sight Doppler velocity and the vector magnetic field on the solar surface. This weekend marks a time when the SO orbital position allows the scientists to do stereoscopic helioseismic observations, a first for us.

Next month, on 25 Feb 2022, SDO will support the 11th perihelion passage of the Parker Solar Probe.

Other dates of interest are: The Spring 2022 Eclipse Season starts 24 Jan 2022 and ends 17 Feb 2022. Stationkeeping Maneuver #24 is tentatively scheduled for 2326 UTC (6:26 pm ET), 02 Feb 2022.

Momentum Management Maneuver #42, December 15

SDO executed momentum management (MM) maneuver #42 on December 15 from 1945-2015 UTC (2:45-3:15 pm ET). During an MM maneuver SDO science data may be missing or blurred. These maneuvers are needed to keep SDO accurately pointed at the Sun and taking data.

October 2021 Instrument Calibration Maneuvers have Finished

The October 2021 Instrument Calibration maneuvers have finished. During an instrument calibration maneuver SDO science data may be missing, blurry, or misaligned. The first two cannot be corrected but roll angle is no longer seen as a rotation of the solar image.

• 13 Oct 2021: EVE Cruciform, 1400–1852 UTC (10:00 am - 2:52 pm ET)
• 20 Oct 2021: HMI Roll Maneuver, 1400-2040 UTC (10:00 am - 4:40 pm ET)
• 27 Oct 2021: EVE FOV and HMI/AIA Flatfield Calibrations (EVE FOV @ 1315 UTC; HMI/AIA Flatfield @ 1630 UTC)

The next set of calibration maneuvers will be in January 2022 (EVE Cruciform, EVE FOV, and HMI/AIA Flatfield) and April 2022 (HMI Roll).

Station Keeping maneuver #23, August 4, 2021

SDO will execute Station Keeping maneuver #23 today from 2230-2314 UTC (6:30-7:14 pm ET). During a maneuver SDO science data may be missing or blurred. These maneuvers are needed to maintain SDO's assigned position as it passes through the geostationary orbit belt.

EVE FOV and HMI/AIA Flatfield calibration maneuvers, July 21, 2021

SDO will execute EVE FOV and HMI/AIA Flafield maneuvers today. The maneuver should take about 4 hours. During a maneuver SDO science data may be missing or blurred. These maneuvers are needed to keep the instruments accurately nmeasuring solar data.

EVE Cruciform Maneuver, July 14, 2021

SDO will execute an EVE Cruciform maneuver. The maneuver should take about 6 hours. During a maneuver SDO science data may be missing or blurred. These maneuvers are needed to keep EVE accurately nmeasuring the solar EUV spectral irradiance.

Momentum Management Maneuver #40 Today

SDO will execute momentum management maneuver (MM) #40 today starting at 1910 UTC (2:10 pm ET). The maneuver should take about 30 minutes. During a maneuver SDO science data may be missing or blurred. These maneuvers are needed to keep SDO accurately pointed at the Sun and taking data.

EVE Cruciform Maneuver Today

SDO will perform the EVE Cruciform Calibration Maneuver today from 1300 UTC (9:00 am ET). During the maneuver science data may be missing or blurred.

Calibration Maneuvers Today

SDO will execute two calibration maneuvers on April 7, 2021. The EVE Field of View (FOV) maneuver will begin at 1315 UTC (8:15 am ET). The HMI/AIA Flatfield maneuver will begin at 1630 UTC (11:30 am ET). During a calibration manuever the SDO science data may be missing or blurred. HMI science data is only available when SDO is in Sun-pointing mode.

Here is an AIA 171 Å picture from today's maneuver. The straight edges on the left and top show that SDO is pointed slightly away from Sun center. The image is re-centered by the processing software.

Station Keeping Maneuver # 22 on February 10, 2021

SDO will perform Station Keeping maneuver #22 on Wednesday, February 10, 2021, at 1737 UT (12:37 pn ET) and lasting about 30 minutes. During the maneuver science data may be blurred or missing. This maneuver keeps SDO inside its assigned box as it passes through the geostationary belt.