South Pole TDRSS Relay Installation Status As of 12/29/97 (SP Time) Summary ------- The South Pole SPTR installation is complete. Manipulation of the South Pole router is allowing testing of the SPFS software to proceed. When CONUS support becomes available for the CONUS router the final leg to the Internet should be completed. The following project goals have been met: 1. S-Band full duplex connectivity from South Pole to CONUS. 2. Ku-Band store and forward data transfer (~2 Mbps). 3. Ku-Band link verification to 50 Mbps (TWTA 1 only). 4. S-Band MA access to STGT via the portcomm unit. Problems noted with the installation are identified below in the respective subsystems. The installation team has finalized the installation and repacked for departure. Departure is expected later tonight if/when a flight arrives from McMurdo Station for H. O'Donnell and K. Culin with A. Fortin to follow later this week after additional testing of the SPFS software is complete. S-Band ------ Installation is complete. Testing has indicated that the chart made for doy 356 can be used as a model for daily activity and outages. The antenna has been set with an elevation shaft measurement of 8 inches (~4 deg) now for 4 days. The best readings for the system have been recorded at this elevation. Software checkout of the MCS system is complete for now and a list of discrepancies has been forwarded to D. Israel. None of the software discrepancies found is major. Drew Logan and Skip Winthrop have been shown the software and it's functions and should have no difficulty in downloading, installing, and verifying the new software when it arrives. Remote MCS software has been installed in the comms area of South Pole (REMSPTR16) to allow remote control and monitoring of the system after installation team departure. Outstanding issues: 1. Replacement of the failed LNA. The failed LNA has been packed for return to CONUS. 2. The UPS 1 network adapter has failed. 3. Replacement of the 15 ft length of LDF5-50A with a 20 ft section to allow removal of the FSJ1-50A pigtail. None of the issues is critical although replacement of the LNA in use to one with original SPTR specifications will allow use of the S-Band filter to mask the GOES transmit signal. The cabling exists to allow an easy transition when the new LNA arrives. The LDF cable will be replaced before station closure and should allow an additional 0.3 dB of gain to the system. Ku-Band ------- Installation is complete. The system currently bypasses the Convolutional Encoder and BIO-L data is being generated by the SPFS to maintain data density for the transmissions to STGT. The antenna has been set with an elevation shaft measurement of 6 15/16 inches (~1.5 deg) now for 3 days. This should allow the system to make it through the winter with no antenna elevation change. Software checkout of the SPFS system continues and will continue through at least the remainder of this week. File transfers are now being done between South Pole and STGT and the TDRS window is being utilized to identify, debug, and/or tweak the software to nominal performance. B. Lowenstein has provided samples of real data for the testing. The system came one step closer during today's testing when real and simulated fades were used to test changes made to re-initialize sockets after a fade. The software worked well and one frame error was noted in approximately 2 hours of transfers. Outstanding issues: 1. Repair and reinstallation of the Convolutional Encoder. This issue is critical for the long term and new chips are anticipated later in January for the units. Unit 003 is being shipped back to GSFC with the test equipment to allow future testing at GSFC to emulate the South Pole configuration. Units 001 and 002 will remain on station awaiting the new chips. The prime unit is currently just cabled around with a kluge of adapters to convert twinax to SMA. Other ----- Systems documentation has been updated with "as built" information and copies of the entire project documentation have been made and left in comms. The installation team would like to thank the South Pole staff for their hospitality and support over these 3 weeks. The installation could not have been done with out the assistance provided by the comms group and the FMC groups here. Happy New Year, SPTR Installation Team