JHU: Press Invited to Shutdown of NASA’s FUSE space telescope

October 15, 2007

To: Assignment editors, science writers

Re: Shutdown of NASA’s FUSE space telescope

When: 3 p.m. to approximately 4:30 p.m. EDT on Thursday, Oct. 18

Where: Control room in Bloomberg Center for Physics and Astronomy
The Johns Hopkins University Homewood campus
3400 N. Charles St., Baltimore

NASA’s intrepid FUSE space telescope has finally reached its mission’s end. Built in Maryland and controlled from Johns Hopkins, the satellite will be turned off after more than eight years of discoveries on everything from planets and nearby stars to galaxies and quasars billions of light-years away.

Reporters are invited to visit the satellite’s control room by prior arrangement to observe as researchers and engineers conclude FUSE*s on-orbit operations and put the space telescope “to sleep.” At approximately 4:30 p.m. EDT, the control room’s consoles and displays will go dark.

“After Thursday, FUSE will be just another piece of space junk, orbiting the earth every 100 minutes or so. It is a sad and ignominious end to such an outstandingly successful mission,” said Bill Blair, chief of FUSE’s observatory operations.

For background on FUSE, see http://www.jhu.edu/~news_info/news/home07/oct07/fuse.html

Because of space limitations, reporters and camera crews can enter the control room only one at a time to photograph engineers and staff shutting the satellite down. Opportunities to enter the control room will be available beginning at 3 p.m. Reporters and crews may remain and observe through windows as consoles and displays are shut down at 4:30 p.m. Other visuals include a lifesize FUSE model in the Bloomberg Center. Researchers will be available for interviews.

TO ARRANGE YOUR VISIT, please contact Lisa DeNike as soon as possible at 1-443-287-9960 or Lde@jhu.edu

Contact:

Lisa De Nike
1-443-287-9960
Lde@jhu.edu
JHU: Press Invited to Shutdown of NASA’s FUSE space telescope