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Suggested Citation:"EXPERIENCE WITH NATIONAL AND INTERNATIONAL OBSERVATORIES ." National Research Council. 1976. An International Discussion of Space Observatories: Report of a Conference Held at Williamsburg, Virginia, January 26-29, 1976. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/12381.
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Suggested Citation:"EXPERIENCE WITH NATIONAL AND INTERNATIONAL OBSERVATORIES ." National Research Council. 1976. An International Discussion of Space Observatories: Report of a Conference Held at Williamsburg, Virginia, January 26-29, 1976. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/12381.
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Page 11

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4. EXPERIENCE WITH NATIONAL AND INTERNATIONAL OBSERVATORIES The conftrtn<e was concern..S with the inAltullonal arn,..mtntJ that wiD be a key fiiCtOf in tnNritW the sua:ea of space obstrvatoriessuch u the LST. The conoq>e of institutes or _.Ia, whtre ru<a~ch ocitntisls PfO'Iide an efTeam interf~~Ct bttowen larJtll:lentiflc facilities and the user commWiiry, hu ~·efTtell... Experience at around-ba...S ob~~:rvatories and In space IICtivlties has dtmonstnt..S the Importance of lavolvlfta users in tht plan nina of obserntories, the allocation of observlna time, the plannitW of opt rot ions, and the r..Suctlon and distribution of data. The Europ<an Sou them ObservatO<y (uo) in Chile is operat..S by a c:oo- aortium, spomortd by the aovemments of"" Europtan countries. The suiT includes sclentlstJ who assist auestln ..stipton in win& the lnstrumtntJ and who also carty out thdr own rtll:arch P<OI"'"'· The Kitt Peak National DbservatO<y (KPHO) and the Cerro Tololo inter· American Observatory (cno) have bttn succnsMly manag..S by the Auo- cbtlon of Unlvtrsltles for Rtstarch In Astronomy, Inc. (AuRA), consislill& of 12 univtrsitits undtr contnct with the National Sc:lenct Foundation. The profwlonalmff of these observatories usos about 40 percont of tht obstrv· ina time, and a auest~lnvucigator prosram, involvin& scientists from several countries, accounts for the rtmalnln& 60 p<rcent of the observing time. The Royal Creenwlch Observatory hu had considerable exptrlen"" with the tnllna&ement problems of operatl"ll sevenI lnstrumentJ at different locallons. The National Rodio Astronomy Observttory (H RAO) Is fundtd by the National Science Foundotion under 1 manaaement contract with Associlttd Unl.. nltles, Inc. (Au 1), a consonlum of 10 unlversltits originaUy established to operate the Brookhaven National Laboratory. One of the oldtst orpnlza· tlons for mana&Jng l1t~ tdentiRc faeilltiea, AUt has built up 1 great deal of experience In opentlonal matten. The H R AO staff ensurts the best poaslble use of the facllltlea both by vlsltlna uuonomers and by their own rtsearch. The observatory facllltlea are a-.llable to any qualified aclentist or &nduate student; vlsitO<s are UJian..S approxitnJtely 60 percont of the ob· servtnc time. Similar expori<nce of staff lntencciona with usen and similar 10

obscrvlna allocations were reponed wilh the Bonn R.tdio Telucope in Cermony ond with the Weuerbork Array in the Netherlonds. The Orbillna Aocronomlcal Obsomtory (OAO) 1<rles of opocec:rafl hu provided another e.umple of an international JU<I1 invesliptor prosrom. OAO•J (CoptrnkuJ) hu been used by 43 U.S. Jcitntlflc: JroUps and 19 fore ian ldentlflc: croups. The principal inveslipton II Princ:tton Ulllvtnlty review propo.ls from suest inVesliptors, inllr\let UJOrt on the WINIIItnll· tion, and pr0¥1de help with monastna the dota received at the Million Concrol Center 11 Cocldard Sp1« flilht Cenrcr, os wcD u malntalnlna thou own ,.• ... reh propam. The lntcrnational Ultraviolet Explorer (tu E) Is an International obJOrva· tory to belaunchcd In late 1977. The construction of theopaoccnfl ond lnstrumentslnvolvu contributions from the U.S. and from Euro.,.. Data will be received 11 two &round llations: Goddard Spoce Fllaht Center and a llltlon nur Modrtd. Thcre arc no princlpol investiptors: all obsorvotions will be mode by auests, on a proposal basis. The Lunor Science Institute, located near the Johnson Space Center in Houlton, Teus, Is operlled by the Universities Space Reseoreh Auoclatlon (USRA), 1 eoruortlum of 4S NO<th American univendtles, ond oerves as an lnterfooc betwcen the ocademic community ond the NA SA ocntu !hot is responsol>le fOf the lunor prosrarn and the doll resultin& from h. USO.A also a.,. rates thc Institute for Computer Applications in Science and Enpneerin& (1CAS6). There is <111rtntly 1 pfOI*O) by a aroup of x-ray astronomers before t< AlA for thc Hllb~nt of an x-ray tc:lenoc !Niltute. This lnstitutt, responuble fOf the o.,.ntlon ofx-ny ob,.rvatorles in spooc, could be associated Wltb an exist inc c:ooaortium. NASA Is prnently Jtudyinc the creation of an inllltute tom.,.. the LST. Ahh<>u#l plans are not yet complete, aiCicna instilute (tither an exlstlna conJOttlum or 1 new corporatJon), under con1r1ct co H AlA, manned by private retureh scientists, that would Involve users In the operation of the LST, hu ample precedent. The instilute would be responsible for the scientific plannins, operationJ, and data reduction and distribution. 11

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