HUBBLE SPACE TELESCOPE STATUS REPORT

Science observations continue on the Hubble Space Telescope (HST), as NASA prepares for release of the first public images from HST’s new science instruments. NASA plans to make the images public in May.

The HST is still in its orbital verification period. Flight software used with the Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph’s (STIS) Multi-Anode Microchannel Array (MAMA) detectors has been developed and is under final testing with the HST ground simulator at the Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md. NASA plans to turn the MAMA detectors on later this month.

The STIS science team has reported a successful demonstration of the ability to precisely place the light from a star into the narrow entrance apertures of the instrument. This capability, which hinges on the accurate calibration of the location of these apertures, relative to the HST's Fine Guidance Sensors, is an important step toward full commissioning of the STIS's high-resolution spectroscopy modes.

Engineers have seen no change in the focus of camera 3 on the Near-Infrared Camera and Multi-Object Spectrometer (NICMOS). As was reported earlier, NICMOS science observations will start earlier than planned and astronomers are advised to switch to camera 2 when they start observing.

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