17.1	Introduction

In this chapter we give a brief guide to the calibration observations obtained during ground testing, the original period of Servicing Mission Orbital Verification (SMOV2),Cycles 7 through 13, the post-repair SMOV4, Cycle 17, Cycle 18, as well as the preliminary plans for Cycle 19 calibration. Details of improvements made to the pipeline calibration of STIS data after the failure of the STIS Side-2 electronics in August 2004, are discussed in Section 15.1. Further information on calibration, including detailed descriptions of the proposals, can be found on the STIS Calibration page.

STIS provides a large number of available-but-unsupported capabilities (Appendix A:Available-But-Unsupported Spectroscopic Capabilities) beyond those which are routinely supported. Observers should remember that STScI will not normally undertake additional calibrations for these available-but-unsupported instrument configurations. Observers wishing to use non-standard instrument configurations should assess their specific calibration needs and include time in their Phase I proposal for any additional calibrations that are required. Proposers who believe that more extensive calibration observations or analysis may be of benefit to users of STIS, should consider submitting a Cycle 21 Calibration Outsourcing Proposal (see the Cycle 21 “Call for Proposals” for details).