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Advantages of High vs. Low Earth Orbit for SIRTFWhile the subject of this workshop, which we will refer to as ET (for Enlightenment Telescope), is a dazzling successor to the Hubble Space Telescope, its location is unlikely to be the Low Earth Orbit (LEO) used by HST. Locations suggested for ET include High Earth Orbit (HEO) and the moon. The first space telescope to occupy HEO will be the liquid helium cooled Space Infrared Telescope Facility (SIRTF). The selection of HEO for SIRTF was the outcome of a recent study led by the Ames Research Center which showed significant advantages for SIRTF in HEO vs. LEO. This article summarizes the main results of that study. We begin with a review of SIRTF's rationale and requirements, in part because the IR capabilities and low temperature proposed for ET make it something of a successor to SIRTF as well as to HST. We conclude with some comments about another possible location for both SIRTF and ET, the Earth-Sun L2 Lagrangian point.
Document ID
19990009664
Acquisition Source
Ames Research Center
Document Type
Conference Paper
Authors
Eisenhardt, Peter
(California Univ. Berkeley, CA United States)
Werner, Michael W.
(NASA Ames Research Center Moffett Field, CA United States)
Date Acquired
August 19, 2013
Publication Date
January 1, 1989
Publication Information
Publication: The Next Generation Space Telescope
Publisher: Space Telescope Science Inst.
Subject Category
Astronautics (General)
Distribution Limits
Public
Copyright
Work of the US Gov. Public Use Permitted.
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