Kepler Mission Manager Update: Pointing Test

The team has continued exploratory recovery testing of Reaction Wheel 4 (RW4). On Thursday, July 25, 2013, the wheel spun in both directions in response to commands.
While both RW4 and RW2 have spun bi-directionally, friction levels remain higher than would be considered good for an operational wheel. However, it will be important to characterize the stability of the friction over time. A constant friction level may be correctable in the spacecraft’s attitude control system, whereas a variable friction level will likely render the wheels unusable.

High-precision pointing of the Kepler spacecraft is controlled by reaction wheels, which are small electric motors mounted on the spacecraft that control the three axes of motion: up/down, forward/back and left/right.

Image Credit: 

Ball Aerospace

With the demonstration that both wheels will still move, and the measurement of their friction levels, the functional testing of the reaction wheels is now complete.  The next step will be a system-level performance test to see if the wheels can adequately control spacecraft pointing.
The team is preparing for the next test using RW2. Friction levels on RW4, the wheel that failed in May, are higher and no additional testing is planned at this time. The pointing test involves determining the performance of the wheel as part of the spacecraft system. The test will be conducted in three stages.
The first stage of the pointing test will determine if the spacecraft can sustain coarse-point mode using RW1, 2 and 3. Coarse-point mode is regularly used during normal operations, but has insufficient pointing accuracy to deliver the high-precision photometry necessary for exoplanet detection. During coarse-point the star trackers measure the pointing accuracy of the spacecraft. When using wheels to control the spacecraft, pointing is typically controlled to within an arcsecond, with a fault declared if the pointing error exceeds a quarter of a degree. This degree of pointing accuracy would be equivalent to keeping an imaginary Kepler telescope pointed at a theatre-size movie screen in New York City's Central Park from San Francisco.

The spacecraft provides the power, pointing and telemetry for the photometer. Other than the four reaction wheels used to maintain the precision pointing and an ejectable cover, there are no other moving or deployable parts on the spacecraft.

Image Credit: 

NASA Ames/Ball Aerospace

In the first stage, testing will demonstrate whether or not operation with RW2 can keep the spacecraft from entering safe mode. A safe mode is a self-protective measure that the spacecraft takes when an unexpected event occurs, such as elevated friction levels in the wheels.
In the second stage, testing will investigate RW2's ability to help control the spacecraft pointing with enough accuracy to transmit science data to the ground using NASA's Deep Space Network. If RW2 can sustain coarse-point in stage 1, the second stage of the test will be to point the high-gain antenna to Earth and downlink the data currently stored aboard. This requires that the pointing be controlled more tightly than simply avoiding safe mode, yet does not require the very fine control needed to return to science data collection.
The final stage of the test will determine if RW2 can achieve and maintain fine-point, the operating mode for collecting science data. During fine-point the fine-guidance sensors measure the spacecraft pointing. When using wheels to control the spacecraft, pointing is controlled to within a few milliarcseconds. Using our imaginary Kepler telescope example, this degree of pointing accuracy would be equivalent to pointing at a soccer ball in New York City's Central Park from San Francisco.
The team anticipates beginning the pointing performance testing on Thursday, August 8, 2013 and will continue into the following week if all goes well. A determination of whether Kepler can return to exoplanet data collection is expected a couple weeks after these pointing tests are complete.
As engineers explore recovery of the spacecraft, scientists continue to analyze the existing data. Earlier this week the team delivered their findings for 1,236 new Kepler Objects of Interest (KOIs) to the NASA Exoplanet Archive. The new KOIs were found by searching the observational data from Quarters 1 to Quarter 12. Of the 1,236 new KOIs, 274 were judged to be planet candidates, while many others were determined to be false positives. These newly announced Kepler planet candidates bring the current count to 3,548. Some of these new planet candidates are small and some reside in the habitable zone of their stars, but much work remains to be done to verify these results.