1998 SPACE SCIENCE VIDEOTAPES |
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Tape Title | Record ID | Date Produced | TRT: |
Synopsis |
| SWAS POST-LAUNCH VIDEO FILE | G98-056A | 12/5/98 | 00:12:06 | The instrumentation carried aboard NASA's Submillimeter Wave Astronomy Satellite (SWAS) is specifically designed to gather data on features of star formation which, to date, have remained invisible from beneath the obscuring effects of the Earth's atmosphere. By opening a new window on the universe, data collected by SWAS will help to strip away another layer of mystery surrounding how stars are born.
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TAPE CONTENTS: |
| ITEM (1 ): SWAS LAUNCH - SWAS was launched successfully from Vandenberg AFB aboard a Pegasus XL rocket, December 5, 1998, at about 16:57 PST.
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| ITEM (2): SUBMILLIMETER WAVE ASTRONOMY SATELLITE (SWAS) ANIMATION - SWAS will study the chemical composition of interstellar galactic clouds to help determine the process of star formation. SWAS will be looking at water, molecular oxygen, atomic carbon, and isotopic carbon monoxide by examining their submillimeter wave radiation. This high frequency (487 -556 GHz) radiation cannot be detected from ground based observations because of atmospheric attenuation. SWAS can observe 3-5 targets per
orbit.
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| ITEM (3): ARTIST RENDITION OF STAR FORMATION - SWAS observations will illuminate process that lead to star formation and possibly the conditions that might form planets.
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| ITEM (4): HUBBLE SPACE TELESCOPE IMAGES OF STAR FORMATION WITHIN MOLECULAR CLOUDS - SWAS will help scientists investigate the chemical evolution of molecular clouds to gain insight into star formation.
Cut 1: Hubble mosaic of Orion Nebula
Cut 2: Hubble Wide Field Planetary Camera (WFPC2) image of Orion Nebula, Hubble Space Telescope's Near Infrared Camera and Multi-Object Spectrometer (NICMOS) image zooms out showing nursery for massive stars.
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| ITEM (5): SUBMILLIMETER WAVE ASTRONOMY SATELLITE (SWAS) CLEANROOM B-ROLL - Final check of spacecraft systems in NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center Cleanroom.
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| ITEM (6): INTERVIEW EXCERPTS WITH GARY MELNICK, SWAS PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR, HARVARD-SMITHSONIAN CENTER FOR ASTROPHYSICS CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS
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| ITEM (7 ): INTERVIEW EXCERPTS WITH JIM WATZIN, SMALL EXPLORER PROJECT MANAGER, NASA GODDARD SPACE FLIGHT CENTER
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| ITEM (8 ): INTERVIEW EXCERPTS WITH GORDON CHIN, SWAS MISSION SCIENTIST, NASA GODDARD SPACE FLIGHT CENTER
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