Fred A. Brown			March 8, 1995
Office of Public Affairs
(301) 286-7277

Release No. 905-118 (95-1P)


Far Ultraviolet Imaging Spectrograph Carried Into Orbit On Spartan-204

Goddard’s Spartan-204 flies unattached of the Space Shuttle Discovery during Mission 
STS-63 in  February, 1995. This was the fifth flight of the Spartan Project’s reusable 
carrier. Spartan-204 carried a science instrument called the Far Ultraviolet Imaging 
Spectrograph, or FUVIS. FUVIS was provided by the Naval Research Laboratory 
(NRL), Washington, D.C.  The instrument obtained far ultraviolet spectroscopy of 
diffuse sources, both natural and man-made. The data acquired from natural sources 
such as diffuse nebulae, the galactic background, and possibly comets will provide 
information on interstellar gas and dust. A better knowledge of their properties 
(composition, density, temperature, etc.) will provide better understanding of the 
formation process for stars and planets.




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