The documentation of the electrical and electronic systems and subsystems of the SOFIA telescope is mainly located in the main group 6000 (Electrical Subsystem) of the HBS (Hardware Breakdown Structure), and to a lesser extent also in main groups 3000 and 5000 of the TA Library.
As in the other parts of the HBS, the documentation is based on files in pdf, xls and other file formats, some of which are software-tool-specific. This documentation represents the status of the telescope at the time of handover and installation of the telescope in the aircraft in Waco, TX. This status is also reflected in the paper-based TA documentation, the so-called ADP (Acceptance Data Package). All changes made to the telescope's electrical and electronic systems during and after commissioning were consistently updated in this documentation. This was the case until 2016.
Due to various technical considerations, the documentation of the electrical and electronic systems was switched to the “ePlan” software tool in 2014, which is a quasi-industry standard. Development, analysis and repair of the telescope electronics could be carried out far more easily, quickly and efficiently on the basis of “ePlan” than with conventional documentation. This was in particular the case for the analysis of circuit diagrams and the replacement of subsystems (Line Replaceable Units - LRU).
The conversion to “ePlan” was completed in 2016. From this point onwards, the original TA electrics and electronics documentation was no longer maintained. All changes were documented exclusively on the basis of “ePlan”.
As a result, there are different areas in the Technology and Operations Archive containing the documentation of the telescope’s electrics and electronics:
- The conventional documentation based on files (pdf, xls, ...), as handed over on completion of the telescope (ADP) and including all modifications up to 2016. This can be found in the “6000 Electrical Subassembly” area as well as to a small extend in other HBS areas of the TA Library.
- A consolidated export of the full “ePlan”-based documentation from 2016 onward. This export corresponds to the latest and most up-to-date status of the telescope electrics/electronics. At the end of the SOFIA project, this status was frozen and archived as a single pdf file into the TA Library. (doi:10.18419/DARUS-5980) It reflects in detail the last flight configuration of the TA electronics. Spare systems (LRUs) that were not included in the last active configuration are stored and documented in the “Spare Parts” directory
- The original ePlan database along with an unconsolidated export of the installed configuration, data sheets and tutorial videos as contained in this dataset. The original database files can be reactivated, provided a licensed version of “ePlan” is available.
