The shade, which is about the size of a baseball diamond, would be deployed as part a single mission. As the video above shows, the large shade would be mounted at the end of a space telescope – in this case, NASA’s upcoming Wide Field Infrared Survey Telescope (WFIRST) – and then detaches and deploys to a distance of several thousands kilometers in front of it.Such a large shade operating at such a long distance from of its paired telescope is essential when dealing with distant stars.”Because stars are so far away the angular distance between the planet and star is quite small,” said Kasdin, “requiring a very large starshade (20 to 50 meters in diameter) flying very far from the telescope (up to 50,000 km). Nevertheless, many astronomers believe this is the best technology to detect an Earthlike planet in the near future, a belief aided by the fact that few special requirements are placed on the telescope.”Paired with other instruments, like spectrometers, devices like the Starshade will not only allow astronomers to be able to spot planets more easily, but also obtain information about their atmospheres. By studying their chemical compositions – i.e. looking for the presence of oxygen/nitrogen, water vapor, etc. – we would be able to tell with a fair degree of certainty whether or not life exists on them.The Starshade technology is one of the top candidates for a flagship-level mission in the next decade and a top Astro2010 priority for technology development. In addition to working with WFIRST, it is possible it will be paired with missions like the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) and the James Webb Space Telescope.“We are hoping that a starshade capable of Earth detection will be recommended to fly with the upcoming WFIRST mission,” Kasdin added, “allowing the first image of an Earth in the next decade.”
Right now there are no plans to put a starshade on WFIRST,” says Paul Hertz, director of NASA’s Astrophysics Division. Instead, he says, the agency is “in a ‘don’t-preclude-a-starshade’ mode.” As it happens, though, not precluding a starshade closely resembles a concerted effort to build and launch one.
Reading this article about the Heavy's forthcoming flight if as it says they are going to build all the cores now, store them and then close the line, then there is no mention in the forthcoming manifest of this payload which makes me wonder if WFIRST might be manifested to another launcher.
Quote from: Star One on 06/07/2016 04:19 pmReading this article about the Heavy's forthcoming flight if as it says they are going to build all the cores now, store them and then close the line, then there is no mention in the forthcoming manifest of this payload which makes me wonder if WFIRST might be manifested to another launcher.NASA hasn't come close to assign any launcher to WFIRST
Quote from: Jim on 06/07/2016 04:55 pmQuote from: Star One on 06/07/2016 04:19 pmReading this article about the Heavy's forthcoming flight if as it says they are going to build all the cores now, store them and then close the line, then there is no mention in the forthcoming manifest of this payload which makes me wonder if WFIRST might be manifested to another launcher.NASA hasn't come close to assign any launcher to WFIRST Well it sounds like they might miss the bus when it comes to using the Heavy.
Well it sounds like they might miss the bus when it comes to using the Heavy.
Quote from: Star One on 06/07/2016 04:19 pmWell it sounds like they might miss the bus when it comes to using the Heavy.Doesn't matter WFIRST will be designed to fly on an equivalent vehicle. Much like JWST was.
Falcon Heavy seems the obvious choice, would Vulcan have reached the necessary number of flights by then to reassure NASA of its reliability.
I heard a fascinating briefing on WFIRST the other day. Part of it had to deal with whether NASA was going to declare this a "Class A" or "Class B" mission. Currently it is being treated as Class B, but a person who was there pointed out that it has attributes that should make it Class A, including $2 billion, international involvement, and a prestige project. I don't know the differences between A and B, but they have to do with the way the agency treats risk and what is and is not acceptable risk. Class A projects are not allowed to have much risk. They're too important.
Quote from: Jim on 06/07/2016 07:07 pmQuote from: Star One on 06/07/2016 04:19 pmWell it sounds like they might miss the bus when it comes to using the Heavy.Doesn't matter WFIRST will be designed to fly on an equivalent vehicle. Much like JWST was.Falcon Heavy seems the obvious choice, would Vulcan have reached the necessary number of flights by then to reassure NASA of its reliability.
Quote from: Jim on 06/07/2016 07:07 pmQuote from: Star One on 06/07/2016 04:19 pmWell it sounds like they might miss the bus when it comes to using the Heavy.Doesn't matter WFIRST will be designed to fly on an equivalent vehicle. Much like JWST was.Speaking of which, I wonder if ESA would be willing to "donate" another Ariane launch for this one just like they did for the JWST.
Quote from: Ronsmytheiii on 06/09/2016 05:41 pmQuote from: Jim on 06/07/2016 07:07 pmQuote from: Star One on 06/07/2016 04:19 pmWell it sounds like they might miss the bus when it comes to using the Heavy.Doesn't matter WFIRST will be designed to fly on an equivalent vehicle. Much like JWST was.Speaking of which, I wonder if ESA would be willing to "donate" another Ariane launch for this one just like they did for the JWST.When will it launch? Wouldn't Ariane 5 be retired by then?Also, will it have enough performance? Ariane 5 ECA does 6.6 tonnes to L2 injection, while Atlas V 551 does 6.1t and DIVH can do at least 10.1t. Falcon Heavy should be able to do at least 15t, and Vulcan/ACES 13t.
FINDING 4-2: Because of the risk of cost growth, the concern raised in Evaluation of the Implementation of WFIRST/AFTA that WFIRST could distort the NASA program balance remains a concern. In addition, the delay in the implementation of WFIRST over the schedule anticipated in NWNH means that cost growth in WFIRST would limit options for the next decadal survey.
The National Academies published a midterm assessment of the New Worlds, New Horizons program.http://www.nap.edu/23560On the WFIRST front (Chapter 4), it remains a top priority, but there was about a 25% increase in the estimated cost, caused by a significant, but unspecified, increase in the cost of the Delta IV Heavy, among other things, and they are concerned that WFIRST could eat up the budget.