STATUS/ACCOMPLISHMENTS
The Systems team has been focusing on continuing the concept development 
and systems planning in preparation for the upcoming SRR/SCR in April.  A 
draft review plan (containing the draft review agenda, review guidelines, 
and draft documentation to be available at the review) was assembled and 
disseminated to the SDO team for initial review and inputs.  Once we have a 
good draft review plan, we will provide the plan to our GSFC program, HQ, & 
Review Chairs so that all groups agree on the content & information 
required at the SCR.  We also finalized the details and dates associated 
with our Instrument SRRs.

Our Power subsystem team is close to completing a purchase request for one 
80 amp-hr Li-Ion test battery from AEA (vendor).  The team developed and 
provided a recommended battery test plan to AEA that will mimic the SDO GEO 
orbit and the expected charge/discharge cycles in order to evaluate their 
proposed design and battery chemistry.  In addition, SAFT (Cokeysville, MD) 
has been identified as a potential supplier of an SDO Li-Ion battery and 
has also begun the process of building (and subsequently testing) an 80 
amp-hr test battery which will utilize the same basic GEO test plan.  We 
are also looking at other possible suppliers.

We are close to completing our grassroots estimating discussions with our 
SDO leads and in the process of summarizing the information for discussions 
with GSFC's Engineering directorate management.  In addition, we are 
receiving updates & backup information associated with Instrument costs & 
schedules.  We completed the GSFC Resource Analysis Office (RAO) survey 
forms so that RAO can start their independent SDO cost assessment.  The 
results & details of our grassroots effort will be discussed at the SCR 
Business splinter with the Independent Review Team.

For the Instruments, we had a great discussion with our HMI & SHARPP teams 
regarding the recovery strategy associated with the UK retracting their 
planned contribution of CCDs & electronics for the HMI & SHARPP 
instruments.  A brief summary of the meeting follows which will be 
communicated in more detail with GSFC & HQ management over the next couple 
of weeks for concurrence.  After an industry assessment, all parties agreed 
that the original planned UK vendor (E2V) is still the best and most 
reliable/proven vendor to meet SDO requirements.  Therefore, we decided to 
initiate development of a common E2V CCD 4K X 4K array to demonstrate 
engineering feasibility of a CCD that meets the needs of the HMI and 
SHARPP/AIA instruments.  This 9 month effort does not require a large $ 
investment and NRL can have the contract in place with E2V by April 
2003.  This preserves the SDO schedule and provides us with the necessary 
information/results for confirmation.  In the area of CCD electronics which 
is not time critical like the CCDs, we are still working/discussing the 
options and should have a recommendation/approach within several weeks.  I 
thank the HMI & SHARPP teams for their teamwork and Carolyn Krebs (GSFC ) 
for participating in our discussions.

The Ground Systems team focused on four main issues; reworking the launch 
ascent profile for the EELV launch vehicle, starting the formal process for 
RF Spectrum/Frequency approval, working with the Instrument teams on a 
commanding concept, and ordering eight ASIST (GSE TLM & CMD) work stations 
to support development work scheduled to begin early June.

In the area of configuration management & project support, we are 
collecting comments on the draft versions of SDO CM Procedures, SDO 
Document Template, and SDO Documentation Style Guide.  We also incorporated 
the SRR action items into our database & posted the SRR comment sheets on 
our FTP site along with the SRR package and attendance sheets.  The CM team 
is fulfilling document number requests and assisting the management team 
with the development of the SDO Project Plan.  We continue to prepare for 
the upcoming 3 month shutdown of GSFC's accounting system by procuring 
computers, software, and other necessary items before the shutdown 
occurs.  We are starting to move SDO personnel into the cubicles previously 
occupied by GLAS in Bldg. 29.

Thanks,
Ken

"If I do not practice one day, I know it.  If I do not practice the next 
day, the orchestra knows it.  If I do not practice the third day, the whole 
world knows it."
Ignance Paderewski
Pianist

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