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Steps Toward the HST. NASM 18 November 2009. C. R. O’Dell Vanderbilt University- Distinguished Research Professor of Physics and Astronomy Rice University -Andrew Hayes Buchanan Professor of Astrophysics-Emeritus. Steps Toward the HST.
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Steps Toward the HST.NASM18 November 2009 C. R. O’Dell Vanderbilt University-DistinguishedResearch Professor of Physics and Astronomy Rice University-Andrew Hayes Buchanan Professor of Astrophysics-Emeritus
Steps Toward the HST. • 1971-1972 Feasibility Studies (HQ Group, GSFC, MSFC, Contractors).
From Eric Chaisson & Ray Villard’s April, 1990 Sky&Tel article.
Steps Toward the HST. • 1971-1972 Feasibility Studies (HQ Group, GSFC, MSFC, Contractors). • 1973-1977 Preliminary Design (SWG,MSFC,GSFC,Contractors).
1973-A broad Scientific Base is established. • I came on-board in September, 1972. • In December NASA issued an AO for creation of Instrument Definition Teams, the leaders plus a few generalists would form a Science Working Group. • January, 1973 a dog-and-pony show was presented at CalTech, Chicago, and Harvard advertising the AO.
1974 • However, we needed an even broader constituency. • This was done in part by having special sessions at the American Astronomical Society meetings. • The watershed event was the January 30 American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics meeting.
Steps Toward the HST. • 1971-1972 Feasibility Studies (HQ Group, GSFC, MSFC, Contractors). • 1973-1977 Preliminary Design (SWG,MSFC,GSFC,Contractors). • 1978-1990 Design and Development (New SWG, MSFC,GSFC,Lockheed-Martin,Perkin-Elmer, SI Contractors).
Schedule History From Richard Tresch Fienberg’s April 1990 Sky&Tel article.
1971-72 Feasibility Studies and the Roman Group. • One of the first things NASA did was to establish if the project was feasible (a Phase-A Study). • In parallel with studies by multiple contractors a group of scientists was convened at NASA HQ by Nancy G.Roman to provide feedback.
1975-Seeking Funding for Actual Construction (Phase C/D) • The escalating identified costs caused many in the Congress to balk. Several times the program was considered dead. • NASA negotiates its budgets internally, then with the White House, and then the Congress approves-modifies-rejects the submitted presidential budget. • NASA employees must support the submitted budget and DO NOT make end-runs to Capitol Hill.
Convincing the Congress • Non-NASA scientists COULD go directly to the key members of the House and Senate. • This was done with wisdom and vigor by Lyman Spitzer and John Bahcall. • The truth of their arguments won the day, which may not have been the case without them. • In the early years these efforts kept HST alive as congress stretched out the Phase B activities. • In the final years, the lobbying efforts resulted in the HST being included in the FY1978 budget almost in spite of NASA.
1976-European Participation • The first major joint NASA-ESA venture was the IUE (launched in 1978). • Negotiations with the ESA started in Phase B as soon as we started having cost problems. • The areas of participation were finally narrowed down to the Solar Arrays and a Scientific Instrument (the FOC). • Although probably financially and scientifically attractive, the primary determinant was the will of the Congress. • A NASA-ESA agreement was reached in late 1976.
How was the Science Data to be managed? • Traditionally astronomer’s data didn’t transport well (mostly photographic). • NASA’s experience was similar, with the instrument teams exclusively using the results from the spacecraft. • Clearly, these were NOT the ways to do the HST.
Data Rights and Distribution • Very early we established that the GTO’s were to have a rapidly decreasing reward in use of the SI’s. • This meant that GO’s would be the primary users of the SI’s. • It was clear that there had to be a central facility(ies) for routine processing and archiving the data.
How was the Science to be Managed? • Astronomers were used to the national facilities being run by consortia of universities. • KPNO+CTIO-AURA, NRAO-AUI. • The idea of the STScI was first advocated by the ad hoc Ramsey Committee in 1965, before HST was started, but then forgotten. • Within the HST project, an STScI was first advocated by the Project Scientist in 1972, eventually this idea was embraced by the Phase B SWG. • A National Academy of Science study in July, 1976 endorsed the concept and NASA reluctantly accepted it.
The SI’s Selected. • The Wide Field/Planetary Camera; PI, Jim Westphal of CalTech. • The Faint Object Spectrograph; PI, Richard Harms of UC San Diego. • The Goddard High Resolution Spectrograph; PI, Jack Brandt (Sally Heap). • The High Speed Photometer; PI, Bob Bless of the University of Wisconsin. • The Faint Object Camera; ESA (preselected) PI Duccio Macchetto & Henk van de Hulst. • Astrometry with the FGS; Leader,BillJeffereys
The Phase C/D SWG. • NASA-Project Scientist (O’Dell, Brown, Boggess),and Program Scientist Ed Weiler. • SI Team Leaders (seven in all, John Trauger of JPL added later). • Telescope Scientists: Dan Schroeder -Beloit College & Bill Fastie-JHU) • At Large Members: John Caldwell-Toronto,Malcolm Longair-Edinburgh,Ed Groth-Princeton(Physics), David Lambert-Texas,John Bahcall, and Riccardo Giacconi (added).
Spherical Aberration • This was discovered as the first images were made. • The cause was a misaligned optical device used to measure the shape of the primary mirror. • This device was intended to make the mirror appear to be flat when it was of the right shape.
Contributing Factors • The primary mirror was not considered the most demanding part of the HST. • The program was very cost-constrained and the method of testing was considered straightforward. • Management was concentrating on a redesign of the FGS, which WAS new. • The resident MSFC QA person had not been changed because of manpower constraints. • The report on the anomaly with the alignment was not forwarded to MSFC.
Reading Material • “The Space Telescope” by Robert W. Smith. Cambridge University Press, 1989(pre-launch) & 1993(post-launch). • “The Orion Nebula” by C. Robert O’Dell, Harvard University Press, 2003 (Chapter 10). • “Alice and the Space Telescope” by Malcolm Longair, JHU Press, 1989.
