Offpointing

From RHESSI Wiki

RHESSI controls its pointing through the use of torque rods located in the solar panels. By passing current through them, a torque can be generated against the Earth's magnetic field. This system is used to keep RHESSI pointing at the Sun but this system also has the ability to force RHESSI to point away from the Sun. Reasons for doing this are part of RHESSI's mission which includes yearly observations of the Crab Nebula. Quiet Sun observations has also benefited from offpointing. During times of offpointing, the solar flux is highly attenuated. A comprehensive list of all offpointing times can be found here.