MAQ Magazine n. 14 / September 2019
XMM Newton Space Observatory
XMM-NEWTON SOC OVERVIEW
The XMM-Newton Science Operations Centre (SOC), located at the European Space Astronomy Centre (ESAC) in Villafranca near Madrid, Spain, is responsible for the science operations of ESA's XMM-Newton satellite. Starting with the reception of the observer's proposals to the final delivery of calibrated scientific products to the observer, the activities of the SOC comprise all the necessary steps to ensure high quality and reliability of the scientific data. It also includes the provision of a major analysis software package, the Scientific Analysis System (SAS), needed by the observers for optimum exploitation of the XMM-Newton data, and the XMM-Newton Science Archive (XSA).