Cards 1-10. These 10 cards provide a means of entering a brief description of the Astronomical Sequence List which is being used. This description read via an A format, is printed at the head of the output from the Command Generation Program. The description usually includes on card 1 the name of the Astronomical Sequence List in the usual notation (programmer's initials plus a sequence number; e.g. LS29) and on subsequent cards a brief summary of the carriage motion and scientific purpose for the Astronomical Sequence List. This description should be written in sentence form (avoiding outlines and unfamiliar abbreviations so that it can be included without change in various Copernicus reports).
Card 11. This card contains data relevant to the derivation of the expected doppler shift for the target star at the time of observation. The first three entries (in adjacent 13, 13, and F5.1 fields) are the hours, minutes, and seconds of the right ascension of the star. Following these in an I3 field (columns 12-14) is a +1 or -1, denoting the sign (+ or -) of the declination which comes next in I3, I3, and F5.1 fields (containing the degrees, minutes, and seconds of the declination). After the declination is the velocity of the star (in km sec ) with respect to the sun, in an F6.1 field (columns 26-31); and finally, in an F7.2 field (columns 32-38), is the day of the year (i.e. a number in the range 1 to 366) on which the observation will occur. This last entry is normally updated by scheduling personnel at Goddard Space Flight Center.
Card 12. This card contains two entries. The first, read on an F5.1 format (columns 1-5), is the spectrometer temperature, in degrees Centigrade. This is normally left at -7 degrees C. The other entry, read in an I2 field (in columns 9-10) has three possible values. A zero (or blank) in column 10 causes the Command Generation Program to punch the spacecraft commands as well as printing out the minute-by-minute carriage motion summary. This option is normally used only by the scheduling personnel at Goddard, who use the punched spacecraft commands in scheduling the observations. A 1 in column 10 suppresses the punched output and is normally used in the checkout stages in writing as Astronomical Sequence List. The third option, 1 2 in column 10, produces an abbreviated printed output (minute by minute carriage positions are not printed) and no punched output.
Card 13. This card, which is never changed, contains the 16 spacecraft commands into which the Command Generation Program translates the Astronomical Sequence List. The commands, punched in consecutive right-adjusted 5-column wide fields, are the following: 1SLA, 2SLA, SNNA, SNPA, 1GOA, SRRA, 2SPA, 2SNA, 1HLA, 2HLA, LPAN, LPCN, LPAF, LPCF, HVCN, and HVCF. These must be punched on the card in the order noted here.
Card 14. This card contains the initial carriage parameters with which the Command Generation Program starts. The first two entries are the initial encoder values for carriages 1 and 2, respectively, which must be followed in each case by a period. They are read in adjacent F8.0 columns. The next entries in columns 18 and 20, specify the initial mode of motion for carriages 1 and 2, respectively. A zero (or blank) in column 18 tells the Command Generation Program that carriage 1 is initially halted; a 1 indicates that it is slewing, and a 2 indicates a carriage 1 standard routine. A zero (or blank) in column 20 indicates that carriage 2 is initially halted, a 1 specifies a standard routine in the long wavelength direction, a 2 specifies a standard routine in the negative (short wavelength) direction, a 3 indicates that carriage 2 is slewing initially, and a 4 indicates that carriage 2 is in role reversal and is carrying out a carriage 1 standard routine. Normally both these entries are left blank, initializing the program with both carriages halted. The next entry on this card, which is right-adjusted in columns 21-23, is the initial time from which the Command Generation Program is to compute the running time (in spacecraft minutes). This is also usually left blank. Finally, in column 25, is the entry which indicates whether the efficient scheduling mode is to be used. This entry is 1 if the efficient mode is to be utilized, and is left blank otherwise.
Card 15. This card is always blank.
Immediately following card 15 is the first card of the Astronomical Sequence List.