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The Hubble Second Decade Committee was constituted to consider how to maximise the science return from Hubble during its second decade of operations. The committee produced two written reports: the first emphasised the scientific impact of large programs, advocated for an allocation of 20-30% of Hubble observing time in each cycle to such large programs, and recommended the establishment of Treasury programs that could enable multiple scientific objectives; the second report discussed the future of archival research and advocated the enhancement of the Hubble Archive. Finally, the Second Decade Committee also advocated for the addition of a Near-Infrared Channel to Wide-Field Camera 3, currently in development for a future Hubble servicing mission.

Charter/origin

To optimize the scientific return from the HST in its remaining years, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) asked the Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI) to develop a strategic plan for the future of the telescope. In response, STScI formed theSecond Decade Committee, a group of scientists drawn from the astronomy community. The committee’s work stemmed from NASA’s 1997 decision to extend the Hubble mission until 2010 with low-cost operations. This extension means that the HST would operate in parallel with its successor, the Next Generation Space Telescope (later the James Webb Space Telescope), planned (at that time) for launch in 2007.

The second decade of HST provides an opportunity to stimulate new ways of using the facility for projects with lasting scientific impact. The Second Decade Committee’s mission was to help the HST program take advantage of this opportunity.

Constituted

1999

Description: A Review of Reports on Selected Large Federal Science Facilities

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