8.1 Mission Plan

  A second ORFEUS-SPAS mission now scheduled to fly in November 1996 on STS-80 will give us another opportunity to observe with IMAPS. This flight will give substantially more observing time than the last, with about 14 days of the total 16-day flight time being available to all three of the astronomical instruments on board. One important new feature will be that 50% of the regular observing time (exclusive of the instrument checkout and calibration sessions) will be offered to guest observers selected by NASA and DARA. Of the remaining 50% portion held by the principal investigator teams, the split in observing time will be the same as in the earlier ORFEUS-SPAS flight, with 1/5 being available for IMAPS.