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Hubble Space Telescope
Cycle 21 Announcement

Release Notice: December 05, 2012

NASA and The Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI) are pleased to announce the Cycle 21 Call for Proposals for Hubble Space Telescope (HST) Observations and funding for Archival Research and Theoretical Research programs. Participation in this program is open to all categories of organizations, both domestic and foreign, including educational institutions, profit and nonprofit organizations, NASA Centers, and other Government agencies.

This solicitation for proposals will be open through Friday March 01, 2013 8:00pm EST. The Astronomer's Proposal Tools (APT), which is required for Phase I proposal submission, will be made available/released for Cycle 21 Phase I use around mid-January 2013 (if you need to start earlier you can request access to the beta version). Results of the selection will be announced by the end of May 2013.

Questions can be addressed to the STScI Help Desk (email: help@stsci.edu; phone: 410-338-1082).

Deadlines

  • Phase I Proposals: Friday March 01, 2013 8:00 pm EST
  • Phase II Proposals & Budgets: Thursday June 27, 2013
  • E/PO Proposals: Wednesday August 21, 2013 5:00 pm EDT

Late Breaking News

What's New for Cycle 21

  • Medium Proposal Category: A new category of GO proposal - the Medium Program - is being introduced in this Cycle. GO proposals will now be classified as Small (1-34 orbits), Medium (35-74 orbits), or Large (75 or more orbits) Programs based on the orbit request. Medium Programs will be reviewed by the panels and ranked together with the Small Programs. Those making the cut will proceed to the TAC, where a separate orbit pool will be available for allocation to them. This system replaces the orbit subsidy used in recent cycles, and is designed to ensure that the proposal acceptance rate is approximately independent of proposal size.
  • Ultraviolet (UV) Initiative: An Ultraviolet (UV) Initiative is being introduced to ensure the unique UV capabilities of Hubble are fully utilized while they still exist. This Initiative will use orbit allocation targets to increase the share of primary GO observing time dedicated to UV observations (wavelengths < 3200 Angstroms). Small, Medium, Large, and Treasury GO proposals are all eligible. The available UV instrument modes include ACS/SBC imaging, COS spectroscopy, STIS/MAMA imaging and spectroscopy, STIS/CCD imaging (UV gratings only) and WFC3/UVIS imaging (UV filters only).
  • UV Initiative Also Extends to Archival Proposals: The UV Initiative also extends to archival proposals, in the Regular AR, Legacy AR, and Theory categories. STScI will ask the review panels and the TAC to give particular consideration to UV-specific AR proposals in the review process, provided that they lead to UV high-level data products and tools for the Hubble archive, and enable broader use of those datasets by the community.
  • COS Focus Values: For Cycle 21, the focus values for the COS G130M: 1055 and 1096 settings have been adjusted and now allow resolution R=Λ/ΔΛ of between 8000 and 12000 for wavelengths between 900 and 1080 Angstroms, with an effective area comparable to that of the Far-Ultraviolet Spectroscopic Explorer.
  • New Frontiers Initiative: The STScI Director has decided to devote a significant fraction of his discretionary time to a New Frontiers program developed in response to the Hubble Deep Field Initiative. This program will involve deep imaging observations of moderate redshift galaxy clusters and offset blank fields using ACS and WFC3 operating in parallel. Further details are given at the New Frontiers website. Data taken for the New Frontiers program will have no proprietary period, and the community is encouraged to submit archival proposals for the scientific exploitation of these data. In addition, observations to supplement the discretionary time data can be proposed, as can theory programs that support the analysis of these data.
  • RA Restrictions are no longer in Place: The right ascension (RA) restrictions that were in place for Cycle 20 no longer apply. In Cycle 21 the entire sky is accessible to HST and observations may be proposed for any sky location, subject to the standard visibility constraints of the observatory.
  • Joint Spitzer Proposals: Joint HST-Spitzer proposals are now available again. Up to 60 hours of time on the Spitzer Space Telescope will be awarded for joint HST-Spitzer programs in this cycle. Proposed projects must be of a fundamentally multi-wavelength nature, and both HST and Spitzer observations must be required to meet the science goals. Proposers may request up to 20 hours of Spitzer Cycle 10 time in any one HST proposal.
  • Science Press Releases: NASA has the "first right of refusal" for all Hubble news releases. STScI Public Outreach news officers should be made aware of potentially newsworthy science results before the acceptance of HST publications. Proposers are reminded that STScI and NASA can provide considerable resources to support the creation and distribution of press releases."
  • Disruptive and non-Disruptive Targets of Opportunity (ToO): Disruptive ToOs are now defined as those with turn-around times of less than 3 weeks. The number of activations of disruptive ToOs is limited to 8 in Cycle 21. There is no limit to the number of activations of non-disruptive ToOs.
  • The HLA and the Data Discovery Portal: We wish to remind users that HST data can be searched and obtained both through the standard HST Search Form and through the Hubble Legacy Archive (HLA). Proprietary data can only be retrieved by authorized users via the standard search form, though the outline of these observations can be displayed via Footprints in the HLA. For public data, the HLA offers a graphical search interface, image and spectral preview capabilities, mosaic combinations, enhanced data products, as well as source lists for ACS, WFPC2, and - as of this Cycle - WFC3 observations. In addition, a new Data Discovery Portal to facilitate cross-mission searches (including Virtual Astronomical Observatory access) is in development, and will become operational in early 2013.
  • Click here for details on these and other changes for Cycle 21

Release Documents

The Call for Proposals describes the policies and procedures for submitting a HST Phase I proposal. Get the CP as: PDF [US Letter Size], PDF [A4 Size], or as HTML.

The Primer provides an introductory overview of the Hubble Space Telescope and explains how to calculate the appropriate number of orbits for an observing proposal. Get the Primer as: PDF [US Letter Size], PDF [A4 Size], or as HTML.

Science Justification Templates for Cycle 21 HST Phase I

HST Phase I Roadmap

The Roadmap is a step-by-step guide to proposing and submitting an HST proposal.

DD Time

Up to 10% of the available HST observing time may be reserved for Director's Discretionary (DD) allocation.

Shortcuts

Scheduling Considerations