Planetary Systems Laboratory
|
John Annen III
Planetary Systems Laboratory
NASA/GSFC, Code 693 Greenbelt, MD 20771 Phone: (301) 286-3872 Email: John Annen III |
Current Position
- 2001 - Present - Instrument Manager and Chief Instrument Engineer for the Heterodyne Instrument for Planetary Wind and Composition, HIPWAC
Responsibilites:
As the Instrument Manager and Chief Instrument Engineer of HIPWAC I am responsible for the maintenance, operation and optimization of the instrument. I am also responsible for identifying and implementing major instrument modifications and for interfacing of HIPWAC to observatory telescopes. I provide technical input for research and time request proposals and have lead planning and logistical responsibilities, which make possible the delivery of instrumentation to the observatories. I identify, design and implement upgrades to the instrument required for optimizing performance and operation such as the remote control of the laser attenuator, laser stabilization, the variable intensity control of the green alignment laser, and the remote computer control of the crosshair illumination.
The chief responsibility of the Instrument Engineer is the design and implementation of HIPWAC interfaces to large (<8 meter) telescopes. These interfaces included electronics, remote control, laser systems, and support optics. For HIPWAC to operate at the Subaru observatory this fall (2003) several modifications are needed. I am currently modifying the laser stabilization feedback loop for remote control. The filter bank RF attenuator will need to have remote control. The optics of HIPWAC will have to be adjusted to match the large telescopes, and the visible guide camera system may have to move outside HIPWAC.
I have primary and lead responsibility for identifying and implementing interface requirement for large >8-meter telescopes e.g., Subaru, Gemini and Keck. Currently we are designing a direct Nasmyth interface for the SUBARU telescope for planned observations in December 2003 in support of Cassini Huygens mission. Large telescopes provide additional interface challenges. It seems that the whole HIPWAC instrument and all of its ancillary equipment need to be controlled by a remote networked computer, conceptually similar to spacecraft controls.
The above ground-based efforts are in support of:
Cassini Huygens Mission and its CIRS and Doppler Wind Experiment investigations
Mars Global Surveyor and its TES investigation
As the Facility Operations Manager (FOM) I help to coordinate utility outages and safety inspections. The FOM coordinates all maintenance for the building. On many occasions I would choose to maintain things myself. Since people are accustom to coming to me for building maintenance they also come to me with other maintenance problems. The FOM has the authority to write traffic citations and to stop all work in the building and evacuate the facility.
As a Source Evaluation Board (SEB) member I evaluated proposals for the science and engineering services contract.
As a member and Chairman of a Mishap Investigation Board (MIB), I presented findings to the Director of Goddard.
Education
2001 - TapRoot Investigation Team Leader Course- Advanced
2000 - Mishap Investigation Board Chair members
1995 - DECUS U.S CHAPTER FALL SYMPOSIUM
1993 - FOM AND FIRE WARDEN TRAINING
1983 - Digital Signal Processing
1983 - RSX FORTRAN. MACRO Programmer
1983 - RSX system Manager
1976 -Certificate of Continuing Engineering Education, Johns Hopkins University
1972 - BSEE, UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND
Professional Experience
1980 - Present:
- Electronics Engineer, AST, FLIGHT DATA SYSTEMS, Solar System Exploration Division, Planetary Systems Laboratory
- FOM, Building 2, Goddard
- Chairperson: Mishap Investigation Board (MIB)
- Source Evaluation Board Member
1974 - 1980: NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center, Network Engineering Division, Designed the remote operation of the NASA 30 and 40 foot dish antenna systems. Designed and built the Data Measurement System for the satellite laser ranging system. Designed the high speed long distance DMA interface between data measurement instruments and the computers. Designed the control consoles that tracked the satellites and controlled the laser and other instruments. These five systems mobile laser systems measured the plate tectonics of the entire world.
Research Area
Digital and analog systems for high resolution infrared spectrometers, remote instrument control systems, infrared heterodyne techniques, laser systems, high speed digital communications formatting and transmission systems, Infrared spectroscopy of planetary and stellar atmospheres, Instrument Manager for HIPWAC.
Honors
NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center, Laboratory for Extraterrestrial Physics,(Now the Solar System Exploration Division) Special Achievement Award for designing the direct memory access (DMA) interface system for the SIRIS Balloon-borne spectrometer, 1986
Field Operations
1974-1976 As an instrument designer of the Network Engineering Division, I traveled to many of the NASA satellite tracking stations to automate the satellite tracking systems. I designed, built and implemented special purpose computers and interface systems that allowed the remote operation of the NASA 30 and 40 foot dish antenna systems used around the world.
1976-1977 I traveled to the German Space Operations Center near Munich and The Toulouse Center (CST) for spacecraft launch support and to train German and French operators to use NASA Data Transmission Systems (DTS).
1986 I traveled to the NBSF base in Palestine, Texas to support the launch of the SIRIS spectrometer. I designed and built an eight channel high speed DMA computer interface into the SIRIS instrument.
1999 Emergency travel to Wallop’s Island for a sounding rocket payload integration.
2002 Was responsible for the interface of HIPWAC to the NASA Infrared Telescope Facility, IRTF, on Mauna Kea Observatory and supported the observation of Uranus. Made necessary modifications to the instrument to optimize performance.
2003 Was responsible for the optimization and interface of HIPWAC to the IRTF and supported the HIPWAC observation of Jupiter.
Committees
MOBLAS 4-8 Design Team (MDT) More info: http://ilrs.gsfc.nasa.gov/stations/his_nasa_bias.html
Teaching:
DTS: I traveled several times to the German (GSOC) and French (CTS) spacecraft control centers to teach the crews to operate and maintain the NASA Data Transmission Systems (DTS).
MOBLAS: Since the MOBLAS systems were stationed around the world. The operator crews would travel to the Goddard Network Testing and Training Facility (NTTF) so I could train them on the operation and maintenance of the MOBLAS DMS system.
Selected Publications
2003 "Uranus Run", in preparation, H. B. Hammel, T. A. Livengood, Th. Kostiuk, J. N. Annen, K. Fast, T. Hewagama, D. Buhl
2003 "EMERGENCY EVACUATION PLAN - BUILDING 2", J. N. Annen
2003 "Heterodyne Instrument for Planetary Wind and Composition, HIPWAC", F. Schmülling, T. Kostiuk, J.N. Annen, D. Buhl, T. A. Livengood, T. Hewagama, in preparation.
2003 "Ethane Aurora on Jupiter, Before and After the Cassini Flyby", in preparation, T. Kostiuk, T. A. Livengood, K. Fast, J. N. Annen, T. Hewagama, F. Schmülling, D. Buhl, P. Rozmarynowski
2002 "A New Infrared Heterodyne Search for Ethane in the Stratosphere of Uranus", DPS 34th Meeting, T. A. Livengood, H. B. Hammel, Th. Kostiuk, J. N. Annen, K. E. Fast, T. Hewagama, F. Schmülling, D. Buhl
1995 "LEP (SSED) Safety Manual", J. N. Annen
1987 "Infrared Spectroscopy of the lower stratosphere with a balloon-borne cryogenic Fourier spectrometer," V. G. Kunde, J. C. Brasunas, B. J. Conrath, R. A. Hanel, J. R. Herman, D. E. Jennings, W. C. Maguire, D. W. Walser, J. N. Annen, M. J. Silverstein, M. M Abbas, L. W. Herath, H. L. Bujis, J. N. Berube, and J. McKinnon, Applied Optics, 92, 545.
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