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NASA receives two NRO Spy Telescopes
June 5, 2012
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Image: NASA
WFIRST Design
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The US
National Reconnaissance Office handed two telescopes over to NASA that were
originally built to collect intelligence for the U.S. government. Ownership of
the telescopes was handed to NASA in August 2011, but the agency did not reveal
the transfer until Monday, June 4. These telescopes could enable NASA to build
a satellite to detect extrasolar planets and study the nature of dark energy.
Originally designed to observe targets on Earth, NASA conducted an extensive
examination of the hardware to assess whether it can be used for a different
mission profile, peering into deep space instead of surveillance targets on
Earth. The US National Reconnaissance Office declassified the telescopes which
were most likely planned to be used aboard high-resolution optical spy spacecraft to
collect high-resolution imagery. NRO Officials have indicated that the
telescopes were built in the late 1990s and early 2000s and use state-of-the-art optics. The National
Reconnaissance Office made the hardware available to NASA after determining
that the telescopes were no longer needed for their original missions.
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Analysts
believe that the telescopes were built to become a part of the KH-11 KENNAN
Satellite Fleet that is being operated since 1976. At least 15 of these satellites
have been launched by the NRO – one launch was a failure. KH-11 was the
first reconnaissance satellite equipped with charge-coupled
device (CCD) technology
for imaging.
The optics of the telescopes are similar to those of the Hubble Space Telescope featuring a 2.4-meter mirror assembly. Both telescopes have a broader field of view than Hubble and could image a bigger swatch of the sky in high resolution. A swath of the sky 100 times larger than Hubble can see in a single exposure could be photographed with these telescopes. Also, the telescopes are more compact than the Hubble Space Telescope. The hardware uses newer, lighter mirror structure and materials. Currently, the telescopes are in Rochester, New York, at ITT Exelis, the telescope's manufacturer. Storing this high-profile hardware inside clean rooms comes at a cost of roughly 100,000$ a year. With the telescopes, several other associated components were handed to NASA while other pieces of hardware were removed due to National Security reasons. Officials indicated that the hardware only includes the optical assemblies without any cameras and supporting components needed for quick integration into the satellite bus. NASA and NRO have not provided a photo of the hardware. Scientists have been looking at possible uses of the telescopes, but it is doubtful that NASA would use both telescopes in the near future.
The telescopes are a good candidate for NASA’s Wide-Field Infrared Survey Telescope (WFIRST), however, the hardware will probably stay grounded until at least 2020 assuming that the project would be funded by the US Congress. WFIRST is expected to search for dark energy, find and examine Exoplanets and observe distant supernovae. Building a space based telescope requires a variety components and systems. The optics of a spacecraft are usually the most expensive components, but NASA still relies on Congress to fund the project since the new telescope needs to be integrated in the mission’s design and requires a vehicle to be built around it. Science instruments and a spacecraft to support the telescope have to be built and a launch vehicle has to be found to send the vehicle to space. WFIRST was identified as the top priority for the next decade by astrophysicists in 2010, but even with proper funding, the mission would likely not begin until after 2020 since NASA is investing a big chunk of its budget for astronomy and astrophysics into the James Webb Space Telescope set to launch in 2018.
The optics of the telescopes are similar to those of the Hubble Space Telescope featuring a 2.4-meter mirror assembly. Both telescopes have a broader field of view than Hubble and could image a bigger swatch of the sky in high resolution. A swath of the sky 100 times larger than Hubble can see in a single exposure could be photographed with these telescopes. Also, the telescopes are more compact than the Hubble Space Telescope. The hardware uses newer, lighter mirror structure and materials. Currently, the telescopes are in Rochester, New York, at ITT Exelis, the telescope's manufacturer. Storing this high-profile hardware inside clean rooms comes at a cost of roughly 100,000$ a year. With the telescopes, several other associated components were handed to NASA while other pieces of hardware were removed due to National Security reasons. Officials indicated that the hardware only includes the optical assemblies without any cameras and supporting components needed for quick integration into the satellite bus. NASA and NRO have not provided a photo of the hardware. Scientists have been looking at possible uses of the telescopes, but it is doubtful that NASA would use both telescopes in the near future.
The telescopes are a good candidate for NASA’s Wide-Field Infrared Survey Telescope (WFIRST), however, the hardware will probably stay grounded until at least 2020 assuming that the project would be funded by the US Congress. WFIRST is expected to search for dark energy, find and examine Exoplanets and observe distant supernovae. Building a space based telescope requires a variety components and systems. The optics of a spacecraft are usually the most expensive components, but NASA still relies on Congress to fund the project since the new telescope needs to be integrated in the mission’s design and requires a vehicle to be built around it. Science instruments and a spacecraft to support the telescope have to be built and a launch vehicle has to be found to send the vehicle to space. WFIRST was identified as the top priority for the next decade by astrophysicists in 2010, but even with proper funding, the mission would likely not begin until after 2020 since NASA is investing a big chunk of its budget for astronomy and astrophysics into the James Webb Space Telescope set to launch in 2018.
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