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Dr. Robert E. Zee, Manager of the UTIAS Space Flight Laboratory, addressed the Royal Canadian Institute on Sunday, February 12, 2006. His hour-long presentation highlighted all aspects of the Microvariability and Oscillations of STars (MOST) mission, from scientific rationale to satellite development to commissioning and operations.
This excellent presentation can be viewed online.
(Macromedia Flash Player is required to view this presentation.)
The MOST Space Telescope: Big Science on a Small Platform
Date: Sunday, February 12, 2006
Time: 3:00 PM
Abstract: The MOST (Microvariability and Oscillations of Stars) space
telescope, a 53-kilogram "microsatellite" was launched from the Plesetsk
Cosmodrome in Russia on June 30, 2003. Canada's first home built
science satellite in over 30 years has been exceeding performance
requirements for more than two years in orbit. MOST is an astronomical
science mission designed to measure brightness variations as small as a
few parts per million in bright nearby stars. From this information,
the origins and evolution of our universe can be better understood. To
construct the MOST satellite, a number of engineering innovations have
been incorporated, including an attitude control system with
unprecedented pointing capability for a satellite under 100 kilograms.
The design of MOST will be discussed as well as software changes made
after launch to improve mission performance beyond original requirements
and some ground-breaking scientific data that has been collected to date.
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