AURA OverviewThe Space Telescope Science Institute is the astronomical research center responsible for operating the Hubble Space Telescope as an international observatory. The Steven Muller Building on The Johns Hopkins Homewood campus is the primary site which houses the Institute's staff and support facilities.
The Institute is staffed by astronomers, computer scientists, technicians and administrative staff from AURA, the European Space Agency (which is a partner with NASA on the Space Telescope Project), and the Computer Sciences Corporation. The Institute presently has a combined staff of approximately 500, of whom approximately 100 are Ph.D astronomers and scientists.
Launched April 24, 1990, the Hubble Space Telescope is the largest and most complex astronomical observatory ever placed in orbit. The telescope studies a wide range of astronomical phenomena. Located outside the distorting effects of Earth's atmosphere, Space Telescope allows astronomers to see the universe in greater detail than ever before.
The Hubble Space Telescope is expected to return a steady stream of scientific data for an expected lifetime of at least 15 years. Over that period, scientific observations using the telescope's unique capabilities will significantly increase our understanding of the origin, evolution, structure, and dynamics of our universe.
The Space Telescope Project represents the first step in establishing a permanent observational capability for astronomy in space. Following a recommendation by the National Academy of Sciences, NASA established the Space Telescope Science Institute to operate the Hubble Space Telescope as a major observatory for the world-wide astronomical community.
Association of Universities for
Research in Astronomy (AURA)
AURA,
a non-profit corporation chartered under the laws of the State of
Arizona, was formed in 1957. Its corporate office is located at
Suite 350As a university management group, AURA has been responsible fo the operation of both the Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI), which was founded in 1981, and the National Optical Astronomy Observatories (NOAO). NOAO, located in Tucson, Arizona, is comprised of: Kitt Peak National Observatory in Arizona; Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory in Chile; and the National Solar Observatory with facilities in Sacramento Peak, New Mexico and Kitt Peak, Arizona, US Gemini Program, and WIYN Observatory.
1200 New York Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20005.
STScI and NOAO are operated by AURA under contract to the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and the National Science Foundation (NSF), respectively.