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NASA NTRS2006

Space Studies Board Annual Report, 2006

The 2006 Annual Report of the Space Studies Board provides an opportunity to comment not only on the SSB's activities for the past year but also on the environment that has shaped those activities. As has been true for the past several years, and may well be for years to come, we live in an environment that is continually changing. NASA has continued to pursue the Vision for Space Exploration laid down by President George W. Bush in 2004, but it has obtained only limited resources to do so, requiring continuing adjustments in other NASA programs and reconsideration of our plans for the future. In this environment, the activities of the Space Studies Board are of particular importance. We can, through the National Research Council reports that we charter, provide advice on the issues most important to the execution and planning of the space program. Through our Congressional testimony and public statements, we call attention to the concerns and dilemmas that confront NASA and the science community that it supports. The Space Studies Board itself is also in transition. The year 2006 marked the arrival of a new Director, Marcia Smith, who is the permanent replacement for the long-serving and much admired Joe Alexander. As is evident in this Annual Report, Marcia has had to experience a year that has been among the busiest for the Space Studies Board. And that level of activity appears only to be increasing, as we attempt to help navigate the space program through the technical challenges and political turbulence that are expected in the years ahead.

National Aeronautics and Space Administration(NASA↗
NASA NTRS2005

Space Studies Board Annual Report, 2005

The National Academy of Sciences (NAS) was chartered by Congress, under the leadership of President Abraham Lincoln, to provide scientific and technical advice to the government of the United States. Over the years, the advisory program of the institution has expanded, leading to the establishment of the National Academy of Engineering (NAE) and the Institute of Medicine, and of the National Research Council (NRC), the operational arm of the National Academies. The original charter of the Space Science Board was established in June 1958, three months before NASA opened its doors. The Space Science Board and its successor, the Space Studies Board (SSB), have provided expert external and independent scientific and programmatic advice to NASA on a continuous basis from NASA's inception until the present. The Board has also provided such advice to other agencies, including the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the National Science Foundation, the U.S. Geological Survey, and the Department of Defense, and responds to requests from Congress. Early in 2005, the leadership of NASA changed, and with it new emphases emerged. Some of the early interpretations of the 2004 Vision for Space Exploration, in which only certain aspects of space science were encouraged, disappeared and a broader mandate for science emerged. But what also emerged was fiscal reality, which precluded many of the exciting activities that were planned for NASA's science programs. In this environment of change, there has been a continuing need to evaluate NASA's plans against the strategies for science that have been laid down in the various NRC decadal surveys, and to assist NASA in determining how best to proceed given the reduced level of resources it will have. Coupled with this has been a continuing need to provide Congress with the assessments of NASA's plans that it requests.

National Research Council (NRC)↗
NASA NTRS2015

Infrared Telescope Facility's Spectrograph Observations of Human-Made Space Objects

Presented here are the results of the Infrared Telescope Facility (IRTF) spectral observations of human-made space objects taken from 2006 to 2008. The data collected using the SpeX infrared spectrograph cover the wavelength range 0.7-2.5 micrometers. Overall, data were collected on 20 different orbiting objects at or near the geosynchronous (GEO) regime. Four of the objects were controlled spacecraft, seven were non-controlled spacecraft, five were rocket bodies, and the final four were cataloged as debris pieces. The remotely collected data are compared to the laboratory-collected reflectance data on typical spacecraft materials, thereby general materials are identified but not specific types. These results highlight the usefulness of observations in the infrared by focusing on features from hydrocarbons, silicon, and thermal emission. The spacecraft, both the controlled and non-controlled, show distinct features due to the presence of solar panels, whereas the rocket bodies do not. Signature variations between rocket bodies, due to the presence of various metals and paints on their surfaces, show a clear distinction from those objects with solar panels, demonstrating that one can distinguish most spacecraft from rocket bodies through infrared spectrum analysis. Finally, the debris pieces tend to show featureless, dark spectra. These results show that the laboratory data in its current state give excellent indications as to the nature of the surface materials on the objects. Further telescopic data collection and model updates to include noise, surface roughness, and material degradation are necessary to make better assessments of orbital object material types. However, based on the current state of the comparison between the observations and the laboratory data, infrared spectroscopic data are adequate to classify objects in GEO as spacecraft, rocket bodies, or debris.

Abercromby, K.↗
NASA NTRS1976

A cooled infrared telescope for the Space Shuttle - The Spacelab Infrared Telescope Facility /SIRTF/

NASA has completed a preliminary design study of a 1.2 m, cooled infrared telescope for use on 7 to 28 day Spacelab missions. Beryllium optics, cooled to below 20 K with supercritical helium, are used. Noise in the infrared telescope will be less by a factor of 1,000 than that of ground-based telescopes operating at 10 microns (when the telescopes are operated over comparable bandwidths and fields of view). The Spacelab infrared telescope facility will enable astronomers to see more than 30 times deeper into the universe than is now possible over most of its 5-200 microns optimum spectral range. Such capability will initiate a spectacular advance in our knowledge and understanding of the cool regions of the universe where molecules and dust are the predominant radiators and absorbers.

Witteborn, F. C.↗
NASA NTRS2003

Space Studies Board Annual Report, 2003

The Space Studies Board is a unit of the NRC's Division on Engineering and Physical Sciences (DEPS), and it reports to the Division for oversight. DEPS is one of six major program units of the NRC through which the institution conducts its operations on behalf of the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Engineering, and the Institute of Medicine. Within DEPS there are a total of 14 boards that cover a broad range of physical science and engineering disciplines and mission areas. Members of the DEPS Committee on Engineering and Physical Sciences provide advice on Board membership and advise on proposed new projects to be undertaken by the Board or its committees. Every 3 years the DEPS Committee also reviews the overall operations of each of its boards. The last review of the SSB was in 2001. The Board meets three times per year to review the activities of its committees and task groups and to be briefed on and discuss major space policy issues. An internal executive committee composed of seven at-large members of the Board meets at least once a year and may convene via conference call at other times to plan for SSB activities and to advise the chair between meetings. All projects proposed to be conducted by standing committees or ad hoctask groups must first be reviewed and approved by the Board or its executive committee, and the Board monitors the progress of the projects throughout the course of the studies.

National Aeronautics and Space Administration(NASA↗
NASA NTRS1983

Baffle system employing reflective surfaces

Reflective baffles are proposed to reject off-axis light entering a telescope. Toroidal surfaces and adjacent cones are positioned so that off-axis rays make multiple reflections between these two surfaces. Meridional rays are reflected approximately parallel to the entering direction. Skew rays are reflected obliquely, but leave the telescope aperture. The range of incident angles for which these reflections are obtained is approximately 45 deg. A system is described that is designed specifically for the Space Shuttle Infrared Telescope Facility (SIRTF). Because of its reflective properties, the proposed baffle system rejects about 90 deg of the heat load from the SIRTF sunshade that would be absorbed in systems of conventional black baffles.

Linlor, W. I.↗
NASA NTRS2002

Education and public outreach at the SIRTF science center

Communicating the world of infrared astronomy to the public is the main vocation of the Education and Public Outreach Office of the SIRTF Science Center; but certainly not its only goal. In the past few years we have created a wide variety of educational products that explains the infrared as well as the multi-wavelength universe.

SIRTF Space InfraRed Telescope Facility education ↗
NASA NTRS2000

Deep surveys with SIRTF's infrared array camera

SIRTF guaranteed time observers have specified field surveys to be carried out with IRAC with integration times per position ranging from 90 to over 10,000 seconds. This paper describes the plans for these surveys and their application to the study of galaxy formation and evolution.

SIRTF infrared array camera IRAC Space Infrared Te↗
NASA NTRS1998

SIRTF Moves Ahead

Explore the source record for details and available documents.

SIRTF Space Infrared Telescope Facility NASA sched↗
NASA NTRS2004

Spitzer Space Telescope : observatory desciption and performance

The Spitzer Space Telescope, the last of the four Great Observatories commissioned by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, was successfully launched on August 25, 2003 from Kennedy Space Center. The engineering systems for Spitzer were developed by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Lockheed Martin Space Systems Company, and Ball Aerospace & Technology Corp. This paper provides an overview of Spitzer, a technical description of all the engineering subsystems, and the associated challenges involved in developing them to satisfy the mission requirements. In addition, this paper describes the performance of the engineering subsystems during the In-Orbit Checkout phase, the Science Verification phase, and the early portions of the Nominal Mission.

Space Infrared Telescope Facility (SIRTF)↗
NASA NTRS2004

Spitzer Space Telescope mission design

This paper gives a description of the mission design, launch, orbit, and navigation results for the Spitzer space telescope mission. The Spitzer telescope was launched by the Delta II Heavy launch vehicle into a heliocentric Earth trailing orbit. This orbit is flown for the first time and will be used by several future astronomical missions such as Kepler, SIM, and LISA. This paper describes the launch strategy for a winter versus a summer launch and how it affects communications. It also describes how the solar orbit affects the design and operations of the Observatory. It describes the actual launch timeline, launch vehicle flight performance, and the long term behavior of the as flown orbit. It also provides the orbit knowledge from in-flight navigation data.

Mission Design↗
NASA NTRS2006

NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope's Operational Mission Experience

New Generation of Detector Arrays(100 to 10,000 Gain in Capability over Previous Infrared Space Missions). IRAC: 256 x 256 pixel arrays operating at 3.6 microns, 4.5 microns, 5.8 microns, 8.0 microns. MIPS: Photometer with 3 sets of arrays operating at 24 microns, 70 microns and 160 microns. 128 x 128; 32 x 32 and 2 x 20 arrays. Spectrometer with 50-100 micron capabilities. IRS: 4 Array (128x128 pixel) Spectrograph, 4 -40 microns. Warm Launch Architecture: All other Infrared Missions launched with both the telescope and scientific instrument payload within the cryostat or Dewar. Passive cooling used to cool outer shell to approx.40 K. Cryogenic Boil-off then cools telescope to required 5.5K. Earth Trailing Heliocentric Orbit: Increased observing efficiency, simplification of observation planning, removes earth as heat source.

space telescopes↗
NASA NTRS2009

Space Studies Board Annual Report, 2009

The year 2009 was one of transition for the nation, for NASA, and for the Space Studies Board (SSB). The nation pulled back from 2008's economic precipice, but did not return to the path of economic growth that it had been on. The United States inaugurated a new president who set out to build his administration. By mid-year President Obama had announced the appointment of Charlie Bolden as NASA administrator, and Lori Garver as deputy administrator. The president and Charlie Bolden jointly appointed an independent commission, the now well-known Augustine Commission, to provide guidance on the future of NASA's human spaceflight program. Many had known for quite a while that NASA's human spaceflight program faced a profound change at the time of the retirement of the space shuttle. This year was also a year of transition for the SSB. In 2009, Marcia Smith stepped down as staff director for both SSB and ASEB, and Dick Rowberg had a very good turn at the plate as a pinch-hitter. We are deeply indebted to both of them. We are pleased that, after a successful run as study director for Astro2010, Michael Moloney is now director of SSB and ASEB. The profound work begun in 2009 on the decadal surveys will only see the light of day later as they are released and the scientific work begins. The SSB will have much to report for 2010.

National Aeronautics and Space Administration(NASA↗
NASA NTRS1979

Future exploration of the asteroids

Future possibilities for the further study of the asteroids are reviewed, with particular attention paid to space missions for their direct exploration. The role of traditional ground-based and earth orbiting techniques is examined briefly, and it is concluded that although astronomical techniques are presently at their peak, and despite the opportunities provided by the Infrared Astronomical satellite, the Space Telescope and Spacelab Infrared Telescope Facility, the next major step will require direct exploration by space probes to obtain information on asteroid surface chemistry, geology and bulk properties. Various mission modes and propulsion systems for a first multi-target asteroid mission are discussed, including flyby, rendezvous, landing and sample return, and ion-drive propulsion systems. Science payloads for a basic rendezvous mission are considered, and target selection for multi-asteroid flyby tours and rendezvous tours is discussed. Consideration is also given to sample return missions for the evaluation of the asteroid as potential resources.

Morrison, D.↗