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| Paper: |
Infrared Astronomy and NGST |
| Volume: |
216, Astronomical Data Analysis Software and Systems IX |
| Page: |
297 |
| Authors: |
Smith, E. P. |
| Abstract: |
The Next Generation Space Telescope (NGST), scheduled for launch in 2008, will be an infrared (0.6-10+ micron) optimized 8m telescope, passively cooled to 50K, located in an orbit about the second Lagrange point (L2). NGST is a successor to the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) and will be a key part of the NASA Origins Program. Like HST, it will be a general user observatory and will be capable of studying a wide variety of phenomena. For design purposes we are using a Design Reference Mission (DRM) which contains programs investigating; the light from the first stars and galaxies to form after the Big Bang, early supernovae and the chemical enrichment of the universe, protostellar environments within our own Galaxy, faint white dwarfs in Local Group galaxies, Kuiper Belt objects (KBOs) within the Solar system to name a few. The NGST will use many advanced technologies to realize its goals. Among these are advanced software and control systems for the telescope and its instruments. I give a brief update on the state of the NGST project and projected capabilities for this observatory. |
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