The Sun to the Earth -- and Beyond A Decadal Research Strategy in Solar and Space Physics (2003) / Chapter Skim
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7. Strengthening the Solar and Space Physics Research Enterprise
7. Strengthening the Solar and Space Physics Research Enterprise
Pages 147-162
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From page 147... ...
The committee has identified several areas in particular in which effective program management and the appropriate policy actions could enhance the ability of the solar and space physics communities to address the science challenges presented in Chapter 1: development of a stronger research community, cost-effective use of existing resources, ensuring costeffective and reliable access to space, improving interagency cooperation and coordination, and facilitating international partnerships. The following sections describe each of these areas and offer recommendations for optimizing the science return of solar and space physics over the next decade.4 A STRENGTHENED RESEARCH COMMUNITY For decades before the first scientific satellites flew in 1957 and 1958, studies of geomagnetism, the aurora, cosmic rays, and related topics had been carried out at universities, in some government laboratories, and in the few industrial organizations that needed the information for their businesses.
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From page 148... ...
At the same time, an environment of what can best be termed "creative tension" has long existed between the NASA centers and university researchers when it comes to opportunities for funding and spaceflight expert meets. A number of factors contribute to the committee's serious concern regarding the future of universities as sites for NASA-supported solar and space physics research.
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From page 149... ...
This review would look at universities as research sites3 that contribute significantly to the nation's solar and space physics program. It would examine in depth such topics as ways of sustaining meaningful partnerships with NASA laboratories and centers, the competitive process for space hardware procurement to maximize opportunities for university participation, and methods for ensuring reasonable stability for critical-mass technical teams in university research groups and laboratories.
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From page 150... ...
Recommendation: NSF-funded national facilities for solar and space physics research should have resources allocated so that the facilities can be made widely available to outside users.4 Such funding would allow for substantial peer-reviewed guest investigator programs and for substantive community involvement in the definition, design, oversight, and development of new facilities such as the Advanced Technology Solar Telescope, which is currently being developed under the leadersh ip of NSO. COST-EFFECTIVE USE OF EXISTING RESOURCES Return on investment is optimized not only through the judicious funding and management of new observing systems, but also through the maintenance, upgrading, funding, and management of existing systems.
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From page 151... ...
The solar and space physics research community is especially dependent on the availability of a wide range of suborbital and orbital flight capabilities to carry out cutting-edge science programs, to validate new instruments, and to train new scientists. Difficulties in one or more of these program elements can translate into fewer (or no)
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From page 152... ...
Rockets are used to fly stand-alone individual payloads for targeted space plasma research, often in close collaboration with orbital and ground-based measurements. Besides addressing frontier space plasma problems such as small-scale particle acceleration regions, sounding rocket investigations have also served as exemplary tools for the development of scientific ideas and measurement technologies, and they have had a significant level of student participation, often far out of proportion to the program costs.
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From page 153... ...
Because they are relatively inexpensive and require less time to develop and implement than satellite investigations, sounding rocket experiments have proven to be a valuable education asset for training as well as an important research tool. Courtesy of P.J.
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From page 154... ...
Currently there is a limited choice of launch vehicles available for space physics missions, and launch costs can be a large proportion of overall mission costs. A recent report from the Space Studies Boards discussed many of the launch vehicle challenges that face solar and space physics research.
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From page 155... ...
launch vehicles. Low-cost launch vehicles with a wide spectrum of capabilities are critically important for the next generation of solar and space physics research as delineated in this survey.
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From page 156... ...
Recommendation: The scientific objectives of the NASA Discovery program should be expanded to include those frontier space plasma physics research subjects that cannot be accommodated by other spacecraft opportunities. Controlling Spaceflight Mission Cost Growth The use of cost caps during much of the 1990s, together with the placement of responsibi I ities for mission development and success i n the hands of a mission principal investigator (Pl)
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From page 157... ...
. Many of the major science objectives of solar and space physics research are naturally suited for implementation by a Pl.
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From page 158... ...
One important task of the NASA official would be to ensure that rules applicable to large-scale, complex programs are not being inappropriately applied, thereby producing cost growth for small programs. INTERAGENCY COOPERATION AND COORDINATION Over the years interagency coordination has often yielded greater sc ence returns than have single-agency activities.
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From page 159... ...
FACILITATING INTERNATIONAL PARTNERSHIPS International Cooperation and Collaboration The geophysical sciences, and in particular solar and space physics, address questions of global scope and inevitably require international participation for their success. This is particularly the case for ground-based solar and space physics research.
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From page 160... ...
Although a directive excluding scientific satellites from the regulations remains in effect, ambiguities in the statements of requirements have led some federal and research institutions to erect barriers to the exchange of scientific information and instrumentation that could, in a restrictive interpretation, fall under ITAR.42 The impact of the uncertainties related to the application of ITAR to scientific research has been a subject of intense discussion in the research community and among federal legislators and affected federal agencies. This is an important issue since international collaboration in space science research has been encouraged and fostered as a matter of national policy since the early days of the civil space program.
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From page 161... ...
The committee recognizes the continuing critical national imperative for international arms control as well as the long-standing national interest in international scientific space research. It is in this context and with the aim of expediting international collaborations that involve scientific data, instrument characteristics, and instrument exchanges that the following recommendation is made.
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From page 162... ...
85) : As mentioned in the conference report accompanying the fiscal year 2001 appropriations bill, Public Law 105 261 transferred responsibility for satellite technology export licensing from the Department of Commerce to the Department of State to be regulated under the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR)
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