1.3 Applicability

  This standard describes an extensible data interchange format particularly well suited for transport and archiving of arrays and tables of astronomical data. The IAU  has recommended that all astronomical computer facilities support FITS for the interchange of binary data. It has been NASA policy for its astrophysics projects to make their data available in FITS format. This standard may also be used to define the format for data transport in other disciplines, as may be determined by the appropriate authorities.