Letter from the Director - 24 Apr 03

The NASA announcement of the delay in the SIRTF launch from April 2003 comes as a great disappointment to all of us who have been working on the project for many years, as well as to those of you who have been actively planning your Cycle-1 research proposals. The launch delay has resulted entirely from concern about the boosters on the Delta 2 rocket.

We are already working to understand what must be done to be ready to launch in about mid-August. This work involves insuring that we have a sound rocket, evaluating what further testing of the Observatory and its operations can usefully be done during the stand down, replanning the In Orbit Checkout and Science Validation Phases of the mission, and examining what, if any, impacts the delay will have on our current plans for the Cycle-1 Call for Proposals.

It is almost certain that we will still request that Cycle-1 General Observer proposals incorporate the on-orbit performance of the Observatory; that is, proposals will be due no sooner than five months after launch. We are studying various options as part of the re-planning efforts associated with the delayed launch. We will continue to keep you abreast of developments, and will post a new science schedule as soon as possible. In the meantime, I encourage you to start learning about SIRTF's capabilities and to design an appropriate research investigation. The Cycle-1 Call for Proposals, and other supporting technical documents, is available in the Proposal Kit section of the SSC public Web site.

With Best Wishes,

Tom Soifer,
SSC Director