An operations concept for the Space Station based Astrometric Telescope Facility

The Astrometric Telescope Facility (AFT) will be an orbiting observatory which has been proposed to be attached to the NASA Space Station. The primary scientific objectives of the ATF will be to search for extrasolar planetary systems and to study their characteristics. In addition, the ATF will be able to perform other general astrometric observations of stars within the Milky Way Galaxy. Astrometric Telescope Facility operations from the Space Station will be simple and straightforward compared to other orbiting free-flying telescopes. The astrometric approach to planetary detection, which uses repeated measurements of the same set of target stars over many years, is compatible with simple, repetitive operations of the facility. The support provided by the Space Station and anomaly tolerance features of the ATF design also contribute to the simplicity of the operations concept.