Summer 2000 -- Vol. 17, No. 1

Swift Project Keeps Penn State
Among Space-Science Leaders

It's a business park like almost any other business park with the standard-design buildings and business-related tenants--except one. Among the cookie-cutter, brown-brick buildings filled with doctors and insurance agents, one tenant has its sights set on shaping science and scientists for the future.

At home in the Bristol business park located just off West College Avenue and across the street from the Harner Farms apple orchard, members of the Penn State Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics move closer to making NASA's Swift Gamma Ray Burst Explorer a reality.

According to its seven-year, $24.3 million contract, Penn State will be NASA's Lead University Partner, the site of the Mission Operations Center, and the source for a large portion of the new observatory's manpower and materials--almost two-thirds of the hardware and electronics along with the talent of about 25 full-time employees.

The ambitious project is designed for exploring gamma-ray bursts -- mysterious, tremendously powerful explosions that occur often, and in unpredictable locations all over the sky.

These intensely brilliant flashes of gamma radiation briefly outshine every other object in the universe, but are not visible from the ground because the Earth's atmosphere absorbs most gamma radiation. The explosions are some of the most violent in the universe, but their short-lived flashes last just a fraction of a second and can only be compared, measured, or traced by their resulting afterglow.

With Swift providing a powerful space observatory, astronomers and scientists hope to discover a gamma-ray source almost every day after the satellite's scheduled launch in 2003.

Three years remain until the launch and Penn State's contingent already has almost that much time, with thousands of hours of planning and preparation, invested in the program. At a total cost of $163 million, the comparatively inexpensive Swift project was the result of an intense competition among space scientists. The exhausting proposal process lasted almost two years, starting with a group of 31 proposals that was whittled to five. Those five finalists then submitted more detailed proposals and prepared for on-campus visits from NASA and follow-up interviews with government officials in the nation's capital.

"It was extremely competitive, and there was a lot of good science proposed in all the projects," said John Nousek, professor of astronomy and astrophysics and Primary Investigator for the Swift project at Penn State. "Through the first round of approvals, we were trying to convince NASA our project deserved consideration, was feasible, and was something we could handle. At the end, we had to convey that ours was the best in terms of being the most important for NASA, the country, and the world--that the discoveries we would make would have significant impact."

Swift--named for its rapid-response operation--made its mark by integrating multiwavelength technologies to investigate the mysteries of gamma-ray bursts. With three different types of telescopes working together and the ability to integrate ground-based telescopes, Swift earned its eventual place in the sky.

When the project was officially approved as part of the national budget on October 24, 1999, Penn State's contingent had reason to rejoice.

Swift, a one-ton satellite about half the size of a school bus, will allow astronomers and scientists to study gamma-ray bursts more accurately than ever.

The observatory's combination of integrated technology and speedy reaction times makes it an ideal vehicle to help astronomers and scientists better understand gamma-ray bursts.

"New discoveries are coming from the time domain," Nousek said. "It's not the color of the light you see, it's the speed with which you get to it. The reason Swift is so unique is that it gets there so quickly. By focusing on a burst within the first minute, you see it 100 times brighter."

Because of the unpredictability of gamma-ray bursts, the violent explosions remain poorly understood. Peter Mészáros, distinguished professor of astronomy and astrophysics at Penn State, was among the first to conclude that these bursts create a fading afterglow. With Swift, astronomers and scientists hope to determine the origin of the bursts and improve our understanding of cosmic evolution by studying the afterglows as they dim. In the past, a complete study of such afterglows was not possible for six to eight hours. With Swift, that time should be reduced to less than a minute.

Swift's design features three telescopes--a Burst Alert Telescope (BAT), which detects the bursts; an UltraViolet/ Optical Telescope; and an X-ray Telescope.

When a burst occurs, Swift is designed to turn toward the origination point of the burst as determined by the wide-angle BAT and focus on the area with its other two telescopes.

In addition, Swift will be able to communicate, though the ground-based Mission Operations Center, with other orbiting telescopes.

"It's going to be a dream tool. It's hand-designed to do research on afterglows," Mészáros said. "We have been hampered by the lack of simultaneous measurements, but Swift makes it possible to get gamma-ray, X-ray, and optical data at the same time. It's enormously useful for our theoretical group at Penn State, as well as our observational colleagues.

"We've always received second-hand information in different wavelengths from various other satellites and observatories, but having Swift based at Penn State gives us first access to all the relevant information in one swoop. In combination with our ground-based Hobby-Eberly Telescope, Swift will allow us to really test our hypotheses and models with great accuracy."

As Lead University Partner for the project, Penn State has positioned itself to reap some tremendous benefits and help shape the future of science in many ways. Most notably, Penn State will become Swift's home--the place where scientists work to build and integrate materials designed and fabricated all over the world for the observatory.

After the launch, the Mission Operations Center will make its home in the business park. Penn State will maintain its large role in the project because every aspect of Swift's operation will be controlled from the center.

In addition, all the activity and information the observatory records will pass through the center before being distributed to other researchers and research sites.

Those responsibilities make Penn State the major player on a team that also includes partners such as the Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, home of Swift's Principal Investigator Neil Gehrels; Leicester University in England, which will provide the charged-coupled device (CCD) and camera electronics; Mullard Space Sciences Laboratory in England, which will provide the UltraViolet/Optical Telescope and detectors; and the Italian Space Agency, which will provide the use of its Malindi Ground Station in Kenya, Africa.

Penn State will build the X-ray camera's processing electronics, the UltraViolet/Optical Telescope data processor and software, and will conduct the calibration of both instruments. In addition, Penn State will take all the parts produced by its partners and put them together. David Burrows, professor of astronomy and astrophysics and senior scientist, has helped with the X-ray camera and large portions of the entire project.

Swift's capabilities should make finding and analyzing gamma-ray bursts easier and more efficient. While other observatories have recorded thousands of bursts, none had the capability to quickly focus telescopes on the afterglow sites, which astronomers study in an attempt to understand and uncover the origins of the gigantic explosions. Swift's role becomes even more important because it will fill the void created by the impending loss of the Compton Gamma Ray Observatory, which NASA plans to decommission in June 2000.

Swift's selection as one of NASA's new observatories has helped Penn State enhance its reputation in the scientific community. Eleven positions were filled by hiring people already working at Penn State and 11 more were brought
in from outside the University. Among the latter was Keith Duclos, who took control as project manager in early March. He had previously worked at Cornell University on a project to create an infrared space telescope.

"One of the ways projects like Swift foster more projects is that over time the effect snowballs," Duclos said. "It becomes a selling point for Penn State to attract graduate students, so more people come here and the prestige grows. It builds and becomes easier for Penn State to attract the best people for these types of projects because more want
to come to work with those who already are here. The more good people you have around, the more the chances are one of them will be selected as a principal investigator on their own space-based program."

In that sense, Swift continues a successful tradition at Penn State in which University scientists have played large roles in numerous space-science collaborations and missions. Among the most notable has been the work of Gordon Garmire, Evan Pugh Professor of Astronomy and Astrophysics, who conceived, designed, and built the X-ray CCD camera aboard NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory, launched in 1999.

"It's an incremental process," Nousek said. "I came to Penn State because of Gordon and his work as Principal Investigator for one of Chandra's X-ray cameras. His work set a tone. It was only because of Penn State's background, experience, and reputation, from Chandra and other instruments, that we were able to be a part of the Swift mission."

It's not just the professors and scientists who benefit from the projects. Each of the previous missions, and especially Swift, put a priority on education and public outreach, bringing benefits for students and the community. When Nousek and his collaborators addressed the scientific significance of Swift during the final interview with NASA last September, they stressed the benefits of examining gamma-ray bursts. They explained how a better understanding of these powerful explosions would help astronomers and scientists to better understand the development of our own universe. In that same session, they also explained how the benefits of the project would spread throughout the educational system--from kindergarten to graduate school.

Planned education and outreach efforts for Swift will combine traditional and innovative techniques. Part of the plan features the use of regional workshops as a resource for teachers in rural school districts in Pennsylvania and neighboring states. Education plans also include the distribution of Swift curricular materials through other workshops on the local, state, and national levels. In addition, the program will utilize Internet-based materials, including a Swift Web site, and a flagship effort, in coordination with Penn State Public Broadcasting, titled "What's In the News," a multimedia current-events program for children that will provide information about the Swift mission to classrooms across the nation each week.

In secondary classrooms the project also will be important. One Pittsburgh-area high school plans to adopt the mission to educate its students about science and technology.

Undergraduate and graduate students at Penn State are expected to benefit from this unparalleled opportunity by playing a role in deciding what happens with the mission and participating in its discoveries. Because the Mission Operations Center will be based at Penn State, its astronomers and scientists will provide a training ground for the next generation of space instrumentalists and researchers.

"We want to make gamma-ray bursts something that can be appreciated by all students, and especially those in high school," Nousek said. "We plan to have students involved at all levels, and not just graduate students.

"In our labs, we typically have four or five undergraduates working with the graduate students and faculty. That educational component is something we want to continue with Swift."

At the same time, Swift provides a special challenge for the University. Unlike some unrestricted educational
partnerships that award grant money to departments and professors, this space-science project, like Chandra before it, binds the University to a contract. It has stated goals and responsibilities, materials that must be produced, and objectives that must be met.

"Chandra and Swift are the only contracts we have in the Eberly College of Science," said Robert Meyer, assistant to the dean for research. "They're completely different from our other arrangements for research support because they have deliverables and more responsibility. The contracts provide a great challenge to live up to our end of the bargain.

"They also provide a tremendous opportunity because once you prove you can fulfill an obligation like that you're probably in a position to be called on again for something similar."

Swift might do even more than focus on gamma-ray bursts. Because of the unpredictable aspect of the powerful bursts, Swift might move beyond its stated goals. With three different types of telescopes, and its ability to provide data in a valuable combination of important wavelengths, Swift can offer a perspective on many aspects of the universe in addition to gamma-ray bursts from its low-level orbit.

"There are going to be down times between bursts when we'll be able to have Swift look at whatever we want,"
Nousek said. "We have a clear-cut mission, but we should also be able to look at other things. That might mean other scientists who discover important things could call us up and ask us to look at them with Swift.

"We might not be able to approve every request, but we could be a rapid-response center for a lot of what's happening in space research--and that's an exciting thought."

Every day means a step closer to that reality. Already the Mission Operations Center, offices, and research areas for the project, have begun to take shape. Transforming what was a doctors' office in the business park to one of the main research-and-development centers for an important space-science project takes time, but a lot has happened since the project moved into its business-park offices. Walls were reconfigured, furniture arrived, and the finishing touches were installed, including work benches in the laboratory and materials necessary to keep the fabrication area clean.

No portion of the project has been lacking support. When the fate of NASA funding was in doubt briefly during federal budget negotiations and subsequent meetings, University officials provided their own "swift" support for the project. With space on campus at a premium, administrators helped the researchers determine their options for off-campus facilities.

At the same time, they understood the importance of the research and its impact in terms of educational opportunities, potential scientific discoveries, and as a point of continued growth for Penn State's space-science contributions.

"People from all over the world are going to come here to sit in that room and collect data. That's how collaborations are built. You get people together on campus, working together, and over a cup of coffee this professor talks to that professor and they build a bond," said Eva Pell, the University's Vice President for Research. "This project is special. You need to work with Penn State to collect that data. So, we're going to benefit from the research, and from having some special people on our campus."

Equally as important as the potential discoveries are the educational and outreach opportunities. Again, Penn State's appreciation for the potential impact of integrating those areas made it easy for the University to support Swift from concept to construction. With numerous NASA contracts spread among several different departments at the University, Swift also provides a high-profile project to generate an even stronger relationship with NASA.

Overall, it's a project that provides a practical display of the University's mission.

"Swift provides many far-reaching and important benefits," Pell said. "With its strong focus on outreach, there's the aspect of getting younger students involved and making science fun. At the same time, we also have the basis for some important discoveries for the scientific community, and for our undergraduate and graduate students the opportunity to participate in the process alongside some of the best scientists in the world. It really is a prime example of the University's approach to integrating teaching, research, and outreach."

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