S P A C E I N T E R F E R O M E T R Y M I S S I O N N E W S L E T T E R Number 4, March 19, 1999 CONTENTS 1. Editorial 2. SIM Standing Review Board appointed 3. First SIM Technical Progress/Implementation Plan Review 4. Interferometry Conference at Dana Point 5. First Michelson Interferometry Summer School 6. SIM Book 1. EDITORIAL This Newsletter provides updates from the SIM Project for scientists and engineers interested in space interferometry. We will also post announcements for conferences and workshops of interest to the interferometry community - mostly as WWW links to more information. If you do not wish to receive future editions, please follow the directions at the end of this message. Steve Unwin, Editor SIM Deputy Project Scientist unwin@huey.jpl.nasa.gov 2. SIM STANDING REVIEW BOARD APPOINTED In an announcement dated March 1, 1999, Dr. Firouz Naderi, Manager of JPL's Origins Program Office, introduced the SIM Standing Review Board (SRB). The SRB which includes senior management and technical professionals from JPL, the SIM Project Industry Partners, and other recognized space flight systems and interferometry experts from academia and industry, will be the official review board for all of SIM's formal reviews. Mr. Mark Saunders of NASA's Langley Research Center has agreed to serve as the Chairman. The Board will closely examine issues related to the planning, development, assembly, test, launch, and flight operations of the mission. Issues include successful delivery of science products, long term reliability, and adaptability to mission characteristics, and the constraints of Project cost, schedule and accepted risk. 3. FIRST SIM TECHNICAL PROGRESS/IMPLEMENTATION PLAN REVIEW The Project held its first formal review with its Standing Review Board (SRB) on March 9-10, 1999. The Technical Progress/Implementation Plan Review (TP/IPR) was designed to provide the Board with an overview of the scope and challenges of the SIM Mission for future reviews and to expose them to an in-depth description of the Formulation Phase [Phase A/B] technology plans/progress. The Project's plans and approach to preparation for the Non-Advocate Review (NAR) leading to the initiation of the Implementation Phase [Phase C/D] were described in detail. In its findings, the SRB indicated that Project is making excellent progress, but encouraged additional focus be placed on tasks related to integrated modeling and end-to-end simulations of the on-orbit performance. They recommended that the modeling task within the technology program be prioritized with respect to the science requirements, and that early agreement be reached with NASA as to the criteria for a successful NAR. 4. INTERFEROMETRY CONFERENCE AT DANA POINT An international conference on science with optical/IR interferometers will be held at Dana Point, CA, May 24 - 27, 1999. The conference will showcase recent science results, and will emphasize the rich science opportunities in optical and IR interferometry. Current science and future opportunities will be the main focus, but there will also be talks on instrument design, and technology development for interferometry. The conference will also provide a chance for astronomers who are not familiar with interferometry to learn about the capabilities of existing ground-based instruments, and the prospects for space-based instruments such as SIM, currently under development. A Second Announcement was released on March 3. Online registration and abstract submission are now available at the conference web site, which contains current information on the Conference, including travel and hotels. So mark your calendar for May 24 - 27, and plan to spend a few days in the Southern California seaside resort of Dana Point. http://sim.jpl.nasa.gov/conference/ 5. FIRST MICHELSON INTERFEROMETRY SUMMER SCHOOL The first Michelson Interferometry Summer School will be held from August 9 to 13, 1999, in Pasadena, California. This intensive 5-day school is intended primarily for graduate students, postdoctoral scholars and junior faculty interested in learning about instrumentation and research opportunities with optical and infrared interferometers. The school will be interdisciplinary, covering all aspects of optical and infrared interferometry from planning experiments, acquisition of fringes, to analysis of reduced data and scientific interpretation of the results. Oral presentations will be supplemented by tours of the Palomar Testbed Interferometer located in San Diego county, California and the CHARA array on Mount Wilson. We anticipate that the 1999 Summer School will feature an emphasis on the basic theory and operating principles of interferometers, for the benefit of the many new people entering this field. To encourage participation by graduate students and postdoctoral scholars some financial support will be available to assist students in attending. For more information, see the SIM project website at http://sim.jpl.nasa.gov under "Fellowships" and sign up for the summer school mailing list at "The Store". 6. SIM BOOK A book "Space Interferometry Mission - Taking the Measure of the Universe", a 140-page comprehensive overview of the entire mission, scientific objectives, future potential, and status and approach of the technology program is now available. To receive one or more hard copies of the book, free of charge, send an e-mail with your complete mailing address to rudolf.danner@jpl.nasa.gov. Please include the words "Book Mailing" in the subject line. The book will be also soon available electronically as a PDF file. --------------------------------------------------------------------- You are subscribed to the list 'sim-announce'. To unsubscribe from this list, please go to the 'The Store' link on the SIM web page at: http://sim.jpl.nasa.gov