Oct 8 2002
From The Space Library
Astronomer Riccardo Giacconi received the Nobel Prize in physics for research on cosmic x-ray radiation. Giacconi's projects had included NASA-funded research leading to his discovery of cosmic x-ray sources. A professor at Johns Hopkins University, Giacconi had been the first scientist to discover a source of x-rays outside Earth's solar system and the first to prove that the universe contained background radiation of x-ray light. In addition, many astronomers believed that x-ray sources Giacconi had discovered contained black holes. Giacconi had also been responsible for the conception and design of the first x-ray satellite and the first operating x-ray telescope. Together with Harvey Tananbaum, he had proposed the design of the x-ray telescope that eventually became NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory. Moreover, Giacconi had been the first Director of the Hubble Space Telescope Science Institute and the Principal Investigator for the Chandra Ultra-Deep Survey, which had obtained the deepest x-ray exposures with a millionth-second observation. (NASA, “Nobel Physics in Physics Awarded to Astronomer for NASA-Funded Research,” news release 02-197, 8 October 2002; Nobel Foundation, “Advanced Information on the Nobel Prize in Physics 2002,” news release, 8 October 2002, http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/physics/laureates/2002/phyadv02.pdf (accessed 17 October 2008).)
NASA Administrator Sean O’Keefe and U.S. Air Force Undersecretary Peter Teets jointly announced that NASA and the DOD would have closer links, beginning with the FY 2004 budget. Major media reported that the two officials had not provided specific details concerning the association between NASA and the DOD. Although O'Keefe remarked that the collaboration might not require a formalized plan, the two officials stated that NASA and the DOD would integrate research and development efforts on projects such as space-based radar, communications satellites, and the Strategic Launch Initiative (SLI) to develop a reusable launch vehicle (RLV) to replace the Space Shuttle. (Gwyneth K. Shaw, “Military Influence To Grow at NASA,” Orlando Sentinel (FL), 9 October 2002.)
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