Launch day preparation

Topic: Checklist of steps and detailed instructions for final preparations before mission launch day

Last Updated 2024-09-15

This process, particularly prepping the basestation and some file formats, looks different if using the OSU basestation or seaglider.pub/basestation3. These differences are noted in the task list details below

Supplies

  • Laptop with Putty (or other terminal), WinSCP (optional), MATLAB, text editor

Task list

Task details

Review any pre-mission self test files

  • Look for critical errors in the capture (.cap) file
  • Review all loaded parameters (in the log file) and note those that need to be updated for a mission

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Prep basestation

  • Connect to the basestation via WinSCP to view current status of basestation files. If old files are present or poorly organized, they need to be cleaned up!

Basestation3/seaglider.pub prep

If there are old files to be moved out of current
  • Connect to seaglider.pub via command line
  • Navigate to the glider’s home directory e.g., /home/jails/noaaosu/gliderjail/home/sgxxx
  • Run
/opt/basestation/bin/python /usr/local/basestation3/MoveData.py -m <currentLocation> -t <newLocation>
  • <currentLocation> is maybe /home/jails/noaaosu/gliderjail/home/sgxxx (the glider’s home directory) or a different folder
  • <newLocation> should be /home/sgxxx/YYYY-MM-DD_deployment_location or if it is just sim dives to be moved, /home/sgxxx/YYYY-MM_DD_sim_dives

NOTE: I think this script does not move wispr files (ws0001az.x00, etc) and so those must be moved manually

Create the new mission directory
  • Connect to seaglider.pub via command line
  • Navigate to the glider’s home directory e.g., /home/jails/noaaosu/gliderjail/home/sg679
  • Run
/opt/basestation/bin/python /usr/local/basestation3/NewMission.py ./ <newMissionFolderName>

where <newMissionFolderName> is the folder name that includes deployment date as yyyy-mm-dd the mission title string from sg_calib_constants.m that follows the format of Location_MonYYYY and both parts separated by an underscore - Example: 2024-08-23_CalCurCEAS_Aug2024 - This will copy general files from the home directory like pagers.yml, all the files that start with . that we don’t really use except .pagers, and piloting files like science, cmdfile, targets and sg_calib_constants.m - The originals also stay in the home directory but you now have a starting point for this particular mission

Add the mission to missions.yml
  • Set up missions.yml to prep seaglider.pub vis
    • Navigate to the /home/jails/noaaosu/gliderjail/home folder
    • Add the below under the missions: section, replacing the glider number, mission name, and path with the appropriate information. Note you must include the dash on the first line!
  - 
    glider: 680
    mission: CalCurCEAS_Sep2024
    path: sg680/2024-09-14_CalCurCEAS_Sep2024
    also: [ {asset: newport} ]

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OSU basestation prep

By default the OSU basestation keeps all the current mission files in the home directory. So, before a new mission that home directory needs to be cleaned up and all those files need to be moved to a subdirectory for the previous mission

  • Connect to the basestation via WinSCP to view current status of basestation files
  • If old files are on there, need to clean them up!
  • Create a subdirectory within that glider’s folder. Name based on date, mission, or selftests
  • Move all old data in one step
    • Open terminal window to basestation and login with password
    • Navigate to main directory by typing cd / and hitting enter
    • Type usr/local/basestation/MoveData.py -m <current data location> -t <new data location> into the terminal windown and hit enter
      • <current location> is usually /home/sgxxx
      • <new location> should be /home/sgxxx/YYYY-MM-DD_deployment_location (i.e., /home/sg607/2023-04-25_deployment_MHI)
      • some text will print confirming it worked, and now /home/sgxxx will be mostly cleaned up and ready for new mission
      • this script does not move wispr files (ws0001az.x00, etc) and so those must be moved manually

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Prep and upload final piloting files

  • sg_calib_constants.m
    • Change mission name and mass and update any calibration coefficients
    • If not using basestation3, also update rho0, volmax and the hydrodynamic parameters
  • Upload cmdfile
    • Check all params and update where needed for first short dive
  • Check/update science (note format varies slightly for v66.12 or v67.0 gliders)
  • Upload targets
  • Check pmar.cnf (if PMAR system only)
  • Check/update pagers.yml (basestation3) or .pagers (OSU basestation)
  • Check/update any pdoscmds.bat or create placeholders
    • Shouldn’t need one to start a mission but sometimes is useful to have a placeholder such as pdoscmds.bat_target that is loaded and ready to be copied/modified as needed

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Set up local file structure

  • Create a ‘mission’ folder on the desktop or somewhere else easily accessible for downloading any glider basestation or piloting files locally. Suggest naming by the glider and mission name e.g., sgxxx_mission_MonYYYY to match the conventions used in agate
  • Either manually create the basestationFiles and flightStatus folders within this mission folder, or use mkdir in MATLAB to create them

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Set up agate

  • Check for any updates to agate from GitHub, if you want to update it
  • Set up a configuration file for this glider and mission
  • Create a download script for easy downloading of basestation files to the local machine and generating some summary stats for the mission
  • See agate documentation for more detail on these steps

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