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SIRTF Telescope Shipped From Ball Aerospace
Boulder - Feb 25, 2002 The SIRTF telescope, the fourth and last of NASA's Great Observatories, was shipped last week from Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corp. to Lockheed Martin, Sunnyvale, Calif., for integration with the spacecraft. The Cryogenic Telescope Assembly and two of the Great Observatory's three science instruments, the Infrared Spectrograph and the Multiband Imaging Photometer, were built by Ball Aerospace for the Space Infrared Telescope Facility (SIRTF). The innovative Cryogenic Telescope Assembly cooling system provides the low temperature of 1.8 degrees above absolute zero (-456 degrees Fahrenheit) required for sensitive observations by the three instruments. SIRTF will observe objects from the outer solar system to the most luminous known galaxies in the farthest reaches of space. It consists of a 0.85-meter telescope and three instruments capable of performing imaging, photometry, and spectroscopy in the infrared region of the electromagnetic spectrum. By studying the infrared thermal energy emitted by distant objects in the universe, astronomers gain significant knowledge of how the universe was formed and how it is changing. SIRTF provides a significant improvement over previous space infrared telescopes, which include the Infrared Astronomy Satellite built by Ball Aerospace in 1983. SIRTF's lifetime requirement is two-and-a-half years, with a goal of five-plus years that current estimates show should be achieved. It is slated for launch from Cape Canaveral in January 2003 as part of NASA's Origins Program, which seeks to answer the question: Where do we come from and are we alone? SIRTF follows NASA's other three Great Observatories: the Hubble Space Telescope, the Compton Gamma Ray Observatory and the Chandra X-ray Observatory. Ball Aerospace has had a significant role in all four Great Observatories. Community Email This Article Comment On This Article Related Links SpaceDaily Search SpaceDaily Subscribe To SpaceDaily Express Space Telescope News and Technology at Skynightly.com
Cornell's Contract For Management Of Arecibo Observatory Renewed
Ithaca NY (SPX) Apr 06, 2005The National Science Foundation (NSF) has renewed Cornell University's management contract for the operation of Arecibo Observatory, the world's largest and most-sensitive single-dish radio/radar telescope.
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