Contents: 1) FUSE Observers Advisory Committee (FOAC), correction 2) Launch date update 3) Live FUSE images from KSC 1) FUSE Observers Advisory Committee (FOAC), correction Somewhere along the way, from draft inputs to final distribution, we managed to drop one name off the list of FOAC members in the March Newsletter. Dr. You-Hua Chu of the University of Illinois is a FOAC member and should have been included in the list. We apologize for this faux pas. The full list of FOAC members is; Name Institution Joel Bregman Univ. of Michigan You-Hua Chu Univ. of Illinois Jean-Michel Deharveng LAS/Marseilles Steven Federman Univ. of Toledo Edward Guinan Villanova Univ. Graham Harper Univ. of Colorado John Hutchings DAO/Canada Anuradha Koratkar STScI John Raymond Center for Astrophysics Peter Wannier JPL 2) Launch date update The FUSE launch date was changed last week from May 20 to May 27, 1999, because of changes in the Delta rocket launch schedule immediately preceding FUSE. FUSE must use the same launch facility (Pad 17A) at Cape Canaveral Air Station as this other payload, a GPS satellite. The rocket for the GPS launch is already on the pad, so FUSE can't go anywhere until they blast off. If there are further delays in the GPS launch it will directly effect the FUSE launch date. As the schedule currently stands, NASA will launch FUSE on May 27, with May 28 as a backup date in the event of weather or technical delays. The sequence of events for the FUSE launch to stay on schedule: Delta III launch on April 21 followed by the Delta II (GPS) launch on May 4. While we do not expect further delays, in the space business anything is possible. We will keep the FUSE web site (http://fuse.pha.jhu.edu) up to date with the latest information. The major milestones for the FUSE satellite on its march to orbit are summarized below for a launch on May 27, 1999. May 2 Install flight batteries May 17 Install solar arrays May 20 Transport FUSE to launch pad May 23 Install fairing around satellite May 27 Launch - window is 11:35 am to 12:53 pm 3) Live FUSE images from KSC For those of you who want to see what is happening to the FUSE satellite *RIGHT NOW*, KSC provides a (quasi) real-time video feed from the FUSE processing in hangar AE at Cape Canaveral Air Station. http://www.ksc.nasa.gov/payload/missions/fuse/ ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The Observer's Electronic Newsletter is published Monthly by the FUSE project and is aimed at the FUSE user community. Editor: B-G Andersson, FUSE Guest Investigator Officer. The FUSE Project is managed by Johns Hopkins University's Center for Astrophysical Sciences in Baltimore, MD, for NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center. The FUSE Principal Investigator is Dr. Warren Moos, the FUSE Project Manager at JHU is Mr. Dennis McCarthy, and the NASA Project Scientist for FUSE is Dr. George Sonneborn. Further information about the FUSE Guest Investigator Program can be obtained from: Dr. George Sonneborn; sonneborn@stars.gsfc.nasa.gov ------------------------------------------------------------------------------