The philosophy that governed the development of the NEWSIPS system was intended to address four fundamental requirements:
A number of new image processing techniques had been identified since the design of IUESIPS that were demonstrated to produce a more accurate photometric correction and increased signal-to-noise ratio of the extracted IUE data. Implementation of these techniques significantly improves the quality of the Final Archive.
In addition to providing a uniformly processed archive with improved photometric and signal-to-noise properties, the IUE Project has expended considerable effort in verifying the information available for each image.
In defining the specifications for the IUE Final Archive, and in developing the new processing algorithms and calibrations, the IUE Project was guided by the recommendations of the Final Archive Definition Committee, chaired by Dr. Jeffrey Linsky. This very active committee represented a unique grassroots effort by the astronomical community to assist in defining the scientific content of a NASA space mission, optimizing its utility for future researchers.
It is important to note that the data processed with NEWSIPS differ in fundamental ways from the data processed with IUESIPS. Images processed with these two systems are not directly intercomparable.