The Explorer Program for Astronomy and Astrophysics (1986) / Chapter Skim
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THE ROLE OF EXPLORERS IN ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS
THE ROLE OF EXPLORERS IN ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS
Pages 7-14
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From page 7... ...
We are deeply worried that the frequency of flight oppor tunities has fallen below the critical level necessary to attract and ensure participation by the best and most imaginative scientific groups. The lead time for Explorer experiments is now so long and the likelihood of timely flight so low that large segments of the community are discouraged.
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From page 8... ...
As a result, the queue of experiments awaiting flight is long and there appear to be no new dedicated opportunities for flights prior to 1991. This backlog of waiting programs has profound implications: creative new ideas may become stifled for want of opportunity; resources committed to maintaining programs waiting for initiation may be wasted; international endeavors cannot be encouraged; the energetic scientists required to design and operate the instruments may be difficult to find if the lack of creative new endeavors causes them to abandon the field; and the intellectual framework for training new scientists will be in serious jeopardy.
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From page 9... ...
• In the discovery component we find qualitatively new phenomena as a direct consequence of a technological advance that allows a wholly new type of observation. Such technologi cal advances may permit observations in a new wavelength range or with greatly improved spectral resolution, sensitivity, angular resolution, or timing ability.
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From page 10... ...
With the greatly enhanced capability in one or more of these areas, such missions can determine the physical properties of the interesting astrophysical objects in great detail and thus begin to answer the major questions of astrophysics and also discover new phenomena for analysis. None of the space missions in this third component is now being built, although XTE is in an instrument study phase awaiting authority to begin development.
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From page 11... ...
RELATION TO OTHER FLIGHT OPPORTUNITIES The NASA program now provides opportunities for space research through a broad range of flight programs, ranging from suborbital vehicles through long duration, observatory class spacecraft. The Explorer Program plays a vital role in the mid-region of this spectrum, providing extended duration expo sure for small to moderate size instruments aboard dedicated free flying spacecraft.
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From page 12... ...
The Role of Explorers in Astronomy and Astrophysics 13 serve as a model for future level-of-effort programs to utilize the Station and associated platforms for carrying out small, timely experiments.
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From page 13... ...
- COSMIC RAY ,MATTER INTERACTIONS VELA AND COMPTON RADIATION 0 2 O 10-4 IPSR0833-45l -- - COSMIC RAY ,MATTER INTERACT IONS 1 ��EM��C;��N:TOMIC HYDROGE N � ········· ···· -- -DIFFUSE + CYGNUS X-3 t t ' � 1.0110 -4 t � ,! � � o m � m � w � � 1 SAS-t: Comparison of '"t-ray brightness of the galactic plane with the distribution of diffuse matter, as represented by several model lines.
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From page 14... ...
EXPLORER 11: GAMMA-RAY ASTRONOMY Explorer 11, the first astronomical satellite, carried a directional detector designed to search for high energy gamma rays from the decay of neutral pions produced in the interac tions of cosmic-ray nuclei with interstellar matter. Thirty 15
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