On the Use of IDL for Instrument Control

Abstract

The Aerospace Corporation has developed a near-infrared and visible spectrograph that is used for astronomical observations at Lick observatory's 3-m telescope. This paper describes the instrument control and data handling system, which employs the Interactive Data Language (IDL) for both the user interface and instrument control. The system employs IDL in a client-server design to control all aspects of data acquisition, and has been operational for several years. The use of IDL has simplified the system design and allowed for extensive modifications.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Sep 20, 2006
Accession Number
ADA458754

Entities

People

  • C. Venturini
  • S. Mazuk

Organizations

  • The Aerospace Corporation

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Advanced Electronics
  • Space
  • Weapons Technologies

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Acquisition
  • Air Force
  • Communications Protocols
  • Control Systems
  • Corporations
  • Data Acquisition
  • Detectors
  • Focal Planes
  • Language
  • Materials
  • Microelectromechanical Systems
  • Operating Systems
  • Space Sciences
  • Space Systems
  • Spectra
  • Spectrographs
  • User Interface

Fields of Study

  • Physics

Readers

  • Astronomy and Astrophysics.
  • Software Engineering.
  • Systems Analysis and Design

Technology Areas

  • Space
  • Space - Spacecraft Maneuvers