The ISS-AT is an astronomical telescope mounted on the International Space Station, and operated by amateur astronomers for the education and benefit of the world's citizens.
The telescope will be delivered to the Space Station on an ISS Express Pallet and mounted on the ISS truss. The telescope optics will consist of a Cassegrain telescope with an aperture between 350 and 400 millimeters, and a focal length commensurate with diffraction-limited imaging of celestial objects. An array of CCD detectors will capture images for transmission to Earth.
The Astronomical League, a consortium of US amateur astronomy clubs headquartered in Kansas city, MO, is responsible for all ISS-AT operations. Working in close coordination with established astronomical societies around the world, the League will host a working group responsible for the scheduling, operation, and distribution of ISS-AT observations.
The ISS-AT observing program will consist of a broad-based "background program" of synoptic planetary observations and selected deep-sky objects, and a "foreground program" of observations proposed and requested by individual amateur astronomers, groups of amateur astronomers, and established astronomical associations.
Program selection is the responsibility of the League; selection criteria will strongly favor observations that cannot be made from Earth's surface, and observing programs must be consistent with the broad goals and aims of amateur astronomy. All observations will be placed on an ISS-AT Internet site within 24 hours of receipt, and all data will placed in the public domain. |
置顶卡
变色卡
千斤顶
显身卡