A method and a GUI for the creation of azimuth-track level-pointing-error corrections

The JPL beam-waveguide (BWG) antennas are used for spacecraft tracking and for radio-astronomy observations. They are mounted on wheels that rotate around an uneven azimuth track, causing antenna deformations, and reducing pointing accuracy. The pointing errors affected by the track irregularities are repeatable, and can therefore be calibrated. The effects of the irregularities of the track can continually be corrected by using a lookup table, created by the interface presented. This paper is a continuation of previous work of Gawronski, Baher and Quintero (see ibid., vol.42, no.2, p.28-38, 2000). It describes the processing the inclinometer data, which includes the verification of repeatability, smoothing, slow-trend removal, re-sampling, and adjustment to a standard format. it also presents a user-friendly interface that process field data and creates a lookup table for pointing-error correction by clicking appropriate buttons on a computer screen. The GUI was tested with the JPL BWG antennas, and may be used with any antennas utilizing an azimuth track.