Spitzer Space Telescope proposal process

S. Laine; N. A. Silbermann; L. M. Rebull; L. J. Storrie-Lombardi

doi:10.1117/12.669087

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30 June 2006 Spitzer Space Telescope proposal process

S. Laine, N. A. Silbermann, L. M. Rebull, L. J. Storrie-Lombardi

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Proceedings Volume 6270, Observatory Operations: Strategies, Processes, and Systems; 627029 (2006) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.669087
Event: SPIE Astronomical Telescopes + Instrumentation, 2006, Orlando, Florida , United States

Abstract

This paper discusses the Spitzer Space Telescope General Observer proposal process. Proposals, consisting of the scientific justification, basic contact information for the observer, and observation requests, are submitted electronically using a client-server Java package called Spot. The Spitzer Science Center (SSC) uses a one-phase proposal submission process, meaning that fully-planned observations are submitted for most proposals at the time of submission, not months after acceptance. Ample documentation and tools are available to the observers on SSC web pages to support the preparation of proposals, including an email-based Helpdesk. Upon submission proposals are immediately ingested into a database which can be queried at the SSC for program information, statistics, etc. at any time. Large proposals are checked for technical feasibility and all proposals are checked against duplicates of already approved observations. Output from these tasks is made available to the Time Allocation Committee (TAC) members. At the review meeting, web-based software is used to record reviewer comments and keep track of the voted scores. After the meeting, another Java-based web tool, Griffin, is used to track the approved programs as they go through technical reviews, duplication checks and minor modifications before the observations are released for scheduling. In addition to detailing the proposal process, lessons learned from the first two General Observer proposal calls are discussed.

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S. Laine, N. A. Silbermann, L. M. Rebull, and L. J. Storrie-Lombardi "Spitzer Space Telescope proposal process", Proc. SPIE 6270, Observatory Operations: Strategies, Processes, and Systems, 627029 (30 June 2006); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.669087

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