Press Release

Aura’s Opus Software Licensed To Celera Genomics

By SpaceRef Editor

October 24, 2001

Filed under Astrobiology, Space Telescope Science Institute, US

The Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy, Inc. (AURA)
has reached an agreement with Celera Genomics Group, an Applera
Corporation business in Rockville, MD, on the use of AURA’s Operational
Pipeline Unified Systems (OPUS) software package. Originally designed
for use in the Hubble Space Telescope program, OPUS is being used by
Celera to process bioinformatics data. OPUS was developed by the Space
Telescope Science Institute, which is managed by AURA under contract
with NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center. It is used to process
astronomical data generated by the Hubble Space Telescope for use by
researchers studying the universe, and it has been widely employed in
other space observatories and NASA projects. Facing similar needs for
the use of their large databases, Celera is licensing OPUS from AURA
to assist in the processing of data from their proteomics and
genomics projects.

“OPUS is an example of how the highly talented engineers working on
the space program can invent products of practical benefit to such
diverse enterprises as biological research, medicine, and industry,”
said Steven Beckwith, Director of the Space Telescope Science
Institute. “We are delighted that the Hubble Space Telescope program
produced this commercial benefit to complement its scientific research.”

“Celera has found OPUS to be a cost-effective solution that has cut
software system deployment time and saved in-house development effort,
thus freeing software engineering resources for other tasks,” said
John Reynders, Celera’s vice president, information systems.

–end–

The Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI) is operated by the
Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy, Inc. (AURA),
for NASA, under contract with the Goddard Space Flight Center,
Greenbelt, MD. The Hubble Space Telescope is a project of
international co-operation between NASA and the European Space
Agency (ESA). The Celera Genomics Group is an Applera Corporation
business in Rockville, MD.

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CONTACT:

Cheryl Gundy

Deputy News Chief and Media Coordinator

Space Telescope Science Institute, Baltimore, MD

(Phone: 410-338-4707; E-mail: gundy@stsci.edu)

Heather Kowalski