- Email: [email protected]
NASA selects Space Infrared Telescope Facility investigators
to the former Brenda Kay Polson. They are the parents of two children, Randy and Stephanie. He and his family reside in Vienna, Va.
3.24. NASA SELECTS SPACE INFRARED TELESCOPE FACILITY INVESTlGAl7XW’~
NASA has selected the scientists who will form the Science Working Group (SWG) for the Space Infrared Telescope Facility (SIRTF), the next generation Earth-orbiting observatory for infrared astronomy. The scientists were selected following a review of proposals solicited from the scientific community in 1983. Investigators were sought in several different categories: focal plane instrument investigators, facility scientists and interdisciplinary scientists. The SWG principal investigators selected by NASA are: Dr. James Houck, Cornell University, Ithaca, N.Y.: infrared spectrometer instrument (focal plane investigation); Dr. Giovanni Fazio, Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory, Cambridge, Mass.: wide field camera instrument (focal plane investigation); Dr. George Rieke, University of Arizona, Tucson: multiband imaging photometer instrument (focal plane investigation); Dr. Frank Low, University of Arizona, Tucson: facility scientist; Dr. Edward Wright, University of California at Los Angeles: interdisciplinary scientist; Dr. Michael Jura, University of California at Los Angeles; interdisciplinary scientist. Other scientists include project scientist, Dr. Michael Werner, deputy project scientist, Dr. Fred Witteborn, both at NASA’s Ames Research Center in Mountain View, Calif.; and programme scientist, Dr. Nancy Boggess, NASA Headquarters, Washington, DC. Dr. Werner chairs the SWG. NASA’s Ames Research Center has been assigned project responsibility for the SIRTF. The SIRTF mission has a high scientific priority within NASA and within the astrophysics and astronomy communities. According to Dr. Burton Edelson, NASA Associate Administrator for Space Science and Applications, the SIRTF is planned for a 1988 new start. ‘As the discoveries of the IRAS mission have shown us, the field of infrared astronomy is a very rich area for scientific discovery. We have great confidence that the SIRTF will produce great science by following up on these important discoveries,” Dr. Edelson said. Because the SIRTF is designed to detect light in the infrared region of the electromagnetic spectrum, it must be cooled to minimize the amount of infrared (heat) radiation emitted by the telescope itself. The optics and interior surfaces of the SIRTF will be cooled to a few degrees above absolute zero (-459 Fahrenheit) by a cryogenic fluid, liquid helium, which will be carried aloft in the observatory. Placing the observatory in space also eliminates the infrared radiation from the Earths atmosphere. The reduced background infrared radiation will permit astronomers to study much fainter and more distant infrared ““‘NASA News Release 84-1 IO, August 1984. 85
sources than can be detected from any other planned facility. The SIRTF will be used to study a variety of objects ranging from solar system dust around nearby stars to forming galaxies at the edge of the known universe. The SIRTF’s sensitive infrared observations will advance our understanding of many important astronomical problems. The SIRTF will build upon the results of the recently expired Infrared Astronomical Satellite (IRAQ which successfully carried out the first all-sky survey at infrared wavelengths. During its 300 days of operations, IRAS made many discoveries, including seven comets, a ring of solid material around the star Vega and bands of dust around the Sun between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter. The SIRTF will be about 1000 times more sensitive than IRAS and will study a range of infrared wavelengths which extends almost ten times in each direction (both shorter and longer) that observed by IRAS. The spectral resolution achievable from the SIRTF will be between 100 and 1000 times that of IRAS. The SIRTF will also have much greater capability for providing images of infrared sources with fine spatial detail. The SIRTF will be planned for maintenance in orbit. The orbital placement of the SIRTF, either in a high Earth orbit as with the IRAS, or on a space station platform, will be among the questions examined by the SWG. The replenishment of the superfluid helium which cools the instrument and observatory will be a human-tended maintenance function. Also selected, with the principal investigators, are the following co-investigators: Co-investigators with Dr. Houck: Dr. Steven Beckwith, Cornell University; Dr. Terry Herter, Grumman Aerospace Corp.; Keith Matthews, California Institute of Technology; Dr. Thomas Roellig, Ames Research Center; Dr. Edwin Salpeter, Cornell University; Dr. Baruch Soifer, California Institute of Technology; Dr. Dan Watson, California Institute of Technology; Dr. Daniel Weedman, Pennsylvania State University. Co-investigators with Dr. Fazio: Dr. Daniel Gezari, Goddard Space Flight Center; Dr. Gerald Lamb, Goddard Space Flight Center; Dr. Peter Shu, Goddard Space Flight Center; Dr. Gordon Chin, Goddard Space Flight Center; Dr. Robert Silverberg, Goddard Space Flight Center; Dr. John Mather, Goddard Space Flight Center; Dr. David Koch, Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory; Dr. Gary Melnick, Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory; Dr. Richard Tresch-Fienberg, Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory; Dr. Stephen Willner, Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory; Dr. William Hoffman, University of Arizona; Dr. Neville Woolf, University of Arizona; Dr. Judith Pipher, University of Rochester; Dr. William Forrest, University of Rochester. Co-investigators with Dr. Rieke: Dr. John Arens, University of California, Berkeley; Dr. Frank Low, University of Arizona; Dr. Gerry Neugebauer, California Institute of Technology; Dr. Paul Richards, University of California, 86
Berkeley; Dr. Michael Werner, Ames Research Center; Dr. Eric Young, University of Arizona.
3.25. NASA ANNOUNCES PLANS TO RETRIEVE PALAPA B-2 SATELlJTE~‘7’
NASA will retrieve the Palapa B-2 spacecraft and return it to Earth on the Space Shuttle under the terms of an agreement announced by the agency. The agreement between the space agency and two insurance organizations, Merrett Syndicates Ltd. and International Technology Underwriters (Intec), was signed on 13 August 1984. The two companies represent the majority of domestic and foreign insurance underwriters that wish to retrieve the communications satellite. The spacecraft was launched for the government of Indonesia during the 41-B Shuttle mission on 6 February 1984, but did not achieve the proper transfer orbit when the perigee kick motor failed. The agreement calls for NASA to retrieve the satellite on the 51-A Shuttle mission currently scheduled for launch on 2 November 1984. The insurance underwriters will pay NASA for costs incurred in preparing for and executing the retrieval not to exceed $4.8 million. The details of the rescue plan will be stated in a standard shuttle launch services agreement which all the parties will sign in the near future. This agreement could include a commitment to relaunch the satellite in July 1985 should the underwriters request it. The spacecraft was built by Hughes Communications International Inc., Los Angeles.
3.26. NEW EXPLORER TO INVESTIGATE EXTREME ULTRAVIOLET BAND’18’
NASA has announced the start of the Extreme Ultraviolet Explorer (EUVE), a new astronomy satellite project which will be launched into Earth orbit from the Space Shuttle in 1988. The primary aim of the explorer is to make the first all-sky map in the extreme ultraviolet band of the electromagnetic spectrum, a band between ultraviolet and X-ray light. The EUVE project will be managed by NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) at Pasadena, Calif., with the scientific instruments supplied by the University of California, Berkeley. EUVE will be a true “explorer” in that it will conduct the first in-depth investigation of this critical and interesting band. The observations are expected to discover stars and other celestial objects with unexpected characte~stics, as was done by the Infrared Astronomical Satellite (IRAS) in 1983 and by other spacecraft during their initial all-sky surveys in other spectral bands. The EUVE will orbit Earth at an altitude of 340 statute miles. From this vantage point above (“‘NASA News Release 84-116 of 16 August 1984. “X)NASA News Release X4-125 of 3 1 August 1984.
3.24. NASA SELECTS SPACE INFRARED TELESCOPE FACILITY INVESTlGAl7XW’~
NASA has selected the scientists who will form the Science Working Group (SWG) for the Space Infrared Telescope Facility (SIRTF), the next generation Earth-orbiting observatory for infrared astronomy. The scientists were selected following a review of proposals solicited from the scientific community in 1983. Investigators were sought in several different categories: focal plane instrument investigators, facility scientists and interdisciplinary scientists. The SWG principal investigators selected by NASA are: Dr. James Houck, Cornell University, Ithaca, N.Y.: infrared spectrometer instrument (focal plane investigation); Dr. Giovanni Fazio, Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory, Cambridge, Mass.: wide field camera instrument (focal plane investigation); Dr. George Rieke, University of Arizona, Tucson: multiband imaging photometer instrument (focal plane investigation); Dr. Frank Low, University of Arizona, Tucson: facility scientist; Dr. Edward Wright, University of California at Los Angeles: interdisciplinary scientist; Dr. Michael Jura, University of California at Los Angeles; interdisciplinary scientist. Other scientists include project scientist, Dr. Michael Werner, deputy project scientist, Dr. Fred Witteborn, both at NASA’s Ames Research Center in Mountain View, Calif.; and programme scientist, Dr. Nancy Boggess, NASA Headquarters, Washington, DC. Dr. Werner chairs the SWG. NASA’s Ames Research Center has been assigned project responsibility for the SIRTF. The SIRTF mission has a high scientific priority within NASA and within the astrophysics and astronomy communities. According to Dr. Burton Edelson, NASA Associate Administrator for Space Science and Applications, the SIRTF is planned for a 1988 new start. ‘As the discoveries of the IRAS mission have shown us, the field of infrared astronomy is a very rich area for scientific discovery. We have great confidence that the SIRTF will produce great science by following up on these important discoveries,” Dr. Edelson said. Because the SIRTF is designed to detect light in the infrared region of the electromagnetic spectrum, it must be cooled to minimize the amount of infrared (heat) radiation emitted by the telescope itself. The optics and interior surfaces of the SIRTF will be cooled to a few degrees above absolute zero (-459 Fahrenheit) by a cryogenic fluid, liquid helium, which will be carried aloft in the observatory. Placing the observatory in space also eliminates the infrared radiation from the Earths atmosphere. The reduced background infrared radiation will permit astronomers to study much fainter and more distant infrared ““‘NASA News Release 84-1 IO, August 1984. 85
sources than can be detected from any other planned facility. The SIRTF will be used to study a variety of objects ranging from solar system dust around nearby stars to forming galaxies at the edge of the known universe. The SIRTF’s sensitive infrared observations will advance our understanding of many important astronomical problems. The SIRTF will build upon the results of the recently expired Infrared Astronomical Satellite (IRAQ which successfully carried out the first all-sky survey at infrared wavelengths. During its 300 days of operations, IRAS made many discoveries, including seven comets, a ring of solid material around the star Vega and bands of dust around the Sun between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter. The SIRTF will be about 1000 times more sensitive than IRAS and will study a range of infrared wavelengths which extends almost ten times in each direction (both shorter and longer) that observed by IRAS. The spectral resolution achievable from the SIRTF will be between 100 and 1000 times that of IRAS. The SIRTF will also have much greater capability for providing images of infrared sources with fine spatial detail. The SIRTF will be planned for maintenance in orbit. The orbital placement of the SIRTF, either in a high Earth orbit as with the IRAS, or on a space station platform, will be among the questions examined by the SWG. The replenishment of the superfluid helium which cools the instrument and observatory will be a human-tended maintenance function. Also selected, with the principal investigators, are the following co-investigators: Co-investigators with Dr. Houck: Dr. Steven Beckwith, Cornell University; Dr. Terry Herter, Grumman Aerospace Corp.; Keith Matthews, California Institute of Technology; Dr. Thomas Roellig, Ames Research Center; Dr. Edwin Salpeter, Cornell University; Dr. Baruch Soifer, California Institute of Technology; Dr. Dan Watson, California Institute of Technology; Dr. Daniel Weedman, Pennsylvania State University. Co-investigators with Dr. Fazio: Dr. Daniel Gezari, Goddard Space Flight Center; Dr. Gerald Lamb, Goddard Space Flight Center; Dr. Peter Shu, Goddard Space Flight Center; Dr. Gordon Chin, Goddard Space Flight Center; Dr. Robert Silverberg, Goddard Space Flight Center; Dr. John Mather, Goddard Space Flight Center; Dr. David Koch, Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory; Dr. Gary Melnick, Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory; Dr. Richard Tresch-Fienberg, Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory; Dr. Stephen Willner, Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory; Dr. William Hoffman, University of Arizona; Dr. Neville Woolf, University of Arizona; Dr. Judith Pipher, University of Rochester; Dr. William Forrest, University of Rochester. Co-investigators with Dr. Rieke: Dr. John Arens, University of California, Berkeley; Dr. Frank Low, University of Arizona; Dr. Gerry Neugebauer, California Institute of Technology; Dr. Paul Richards, University of California, 86
Berkeley; Dr. Michael Werner, Ames Research Center; Dr. Eric Young, University of Arizona.
3.25. NASA ANNOUNCES PLANS TO RETRIEVE PALAPA B-2 SATELlJTE~‘7’
NASA will retrieve the Palapa B-2 spacecraft and return it to Earth on the Space Shuttle under the terms of an agreement announced by the agency. The agreement between the space agency and two insurance organizations, Merrett Syndicates Ltd. and International Technology Underwriters (Intec), was signed on 13 August 1984. The two companies represent the majority of domestic and foreign insurance underwriters that wish to retrieve the communications satellite. The spacecraft was launched for the government of Indonesia during the 41-B Shuttle mission on 6 February 1984, but did not achieve the proper transfer orbit when the perigee kick motor failed. The agreement calls for NASA to retrieve the satellite on the 51-A Shuttle mission currently scheduled for launch on 2 November 1984. The insurance underwriters will pay NASA for costs incurred in preparing for and executing the retrieval not to exceed $4.8 million. The details of the rescue plan will be stated in a standard shuttle launch services agreement which all the parties will sign in the near future. This agreement could include a commitment to relaunch the satellite in July 1985 should the underwriters request it. The spacecraft was built by Hughes Communications International Inc., Los Angeles.
3.26. NEW EXPLORER TO INVESTIGATE EXTREME ULTRAVIOLET BAND’18’
NASA has announced the start of the Extreme Ultraviolet Explorer (EUVE), a new astronomy satellite project which will be launched into Earth orbit from the Space Shuttle in 1988. The primary aim of the explorer is to make the first all-sky map in the extreme ultraviolet band of the electromagnetic spectrum, a band between ultraviolet and X-ray light. The EUVE project will be managed by NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) at Pasadena, Calif., with the scientific instruments supplied by the University of California, Berkeley. EUVE will be a true “explorer” in that it will conduct the first in-depth investigation of this critical and interesting band. The observations are expected to discover stars and other celestial objects with unexpected characte~stics, as was done by the Infrared Astronomical Satellite (IRAS) in 1983 and by other spacecraft during their initial all-sky surveys in other spectral bands. The EUVE will orbit Earth at an altitude of 340 statute miles. From this vantage point above (“‘NASA News Release 84-116 of 16 August 1984. “X)NASA News Release X4-125 of 3 1 August 1984.