SOHO Recovery Updates

The S-band radar measurements planned for today could not be performed due to techical problems with the Arecibo transmitter. In the afternoon, DSS14 performed X-band ranging measurements for about an hour. At the time of writing of this report it was not clear whether we succeeded to obtain valid data.

At 21 UT we successfully switched on Attitude Control Unit A (ACU-A) and Control Actuation Electronics A (CAE-A) which allowed us to get attitude data from the Sun Acquisition Sensors (SAS). 5 min of SAS data were acquired. Experts will analyze the data tonight to determine the exact attitude of the spacecraft. The telemetry session is still going on at this time (now for almost 1 1/2 hours). The FOT is monitoring the power status of the batteries, which seem to hold the power well.

If the power balance proofs to be adequate, we will start to thaw out the propulsion subsytem tomorrow.