Andrew Yee[_1_]
December 30th 06, 03:03 PM
Canadian Space Agency
December 29, 2006
BLAST, a balloon-borne telescope, flies over Antarctica
Longueuil, Montreal -- A fascinating experiment is being conducted this week
over Antarctica by Canada and its partners, the U.S., the U.K. and Mexico.
Attached to a huge helium balloon, 2,000-kilogram BLAST (balloon-borne large
aperture sub-millimetre telescope) is peering deep into space to study
distant stars and galaxies. Launched from the McMurdo Research Station in
Antarctica on December 21, BLAST is expected to fly for up to 10 days,
circling 38,000 metres above the frozen continent in the stratosphere. At
such an altitude, the two-metre telescope offers levels of sensitivity and
resolution unmatched by any observation facility on Earth.
The mission will shed light on fundamental questions about the formation and
evolution of stars and galaxies. BLAST will identify large numbers of
distant star-forming galaxies, study the earliest stages of star and planet
formation, and make high-resolution maps of diffuse galactic emissions.
Canada is providing the gondola, the pointing control system, the data
acquisition system, the flight and ground station software, the power
system, and overall system integration. Canadian partners in this project
include the University of Toronto, the University of British Columbia, and
AMEC Dynamic Structures Ltd. of Port Coquitlam, B.C. Canadian funding was
provided by the Canadian Space Agency, who contributed $2 million for
equipment and mission operations, the Natural Sciences and Engineering
Research Council of Canada (NSERC), the Canada Foundation for Innovation,
the Ontario Innovation Trust, and the University of Toronto. International
partners include the University of Pennsylvania, Brown University, the
University of Miami, the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Cardiff University, and
the Instituto Nacional de Astrofisica of Mexico, with funding from NASA and
the U.K.'s Particle Physics and Astronomy Research Council (PPARC).
- 30 -
For more information:
Julie Simard
Media Relations, Canadian Space Agency
Telephone: (450) 926-4370
Photos of the launch are available on the CSA's web site at:
http://www.space.gc.ca/asc/eng/sciences/blast_mission.asp
December 29, 2006
BLAST, a balloon-borne telescope, flies over Antarctica
Longueuil, Montreal -- A fascinating experiment is being conducted this week
over Antarctica by Canada and its partners, the U.S., the U.K. and Mexico.
Attached to a huge helium balloon, 2,000-kilogram BLAST (balloon-borne large
aperture sub-millimetre telescope) is peering deep into space to study
distant stars and galaxies. Launched from the McMurdo Research Station in
Antarctica on December 21, BLAST is expected to fly for up to 10 days,
circling 38,000 metres above the frozen continent in the stratosphere. At
such an altitude, the two-metre telescope offers levels of sensitivity and
resolution unmatched by any observation facility on Earth.
The mission will shed light on fundamental questions about the formation and
evolution of stars and galaxies. BLAST will identify large numbers of
distant star-forming galaxies, study the earliest stages of star and planet
formation, and make high-resolution maps of diffuse galactic emissions.
Canada is providing the gondola, the pointing control system, the data
acquisition system, the flight and ground station software, the power
system, and overall system integration. Canadian partners in this project
include the University of Toronto, the University of British Columbia, and
AMEC Dynamic Structures Ltd. of Port Coquitlam, B.C. Canadian funding was
provided by the Canadian Space Agency, who contributed $2 million for
equipment and mission operations, the Natural Sciences and Engineering
Research Council of Canada (NSERC), the Canada Foundation for Innovation,
the Ontario Innovation Trust, and the University of Toronto. International
partners include the University of Pennsylvania, Brown University, the
University of Miami, the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Cardiff University, and
the Instituto Nacional de Astrofisica of Mexico, with funding from NASA and
the U.K.'s Particle Physics and Astronomy Research Council (PPARC).
- 30 -
For more information:
Julie Simard
Media Relations, Canadian Space Agency
Telephone: (450) 926-4370
Photos of the launch are available on the CSA's web site at:
http://www.space.gc.ca/asc/eng/sciences/blast_mission.asp