Editing Space Interferometry Mission (section)

==Development==

===Beginnings===
The Space Interferometry Mission began as a four-month preliminary architecture study in March 1997. NASA selected [[TRW Inc.|TRW]]'s Space & Electronics Group, [[Eastman Kodak]] and Hughes Danbury Optical Systems to conduct the study.<ref name=nmchale>McHale, John. "[http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=aph&AN=9703272727&site=ehost-live JPL eyes super-accurate star mapper]", ([[EbscoHost]]), Academic Search Premier, ''Military & Aerospace Electronics'', March 1997, Vol. 8, Issue 3, p.1. Retrieved 26 April 2007.</ref> In 1998, TRW Inc. was selected as the contractor for the SIM Lite project; Northrop Grumman acquired part of TRW in 2002 and took over the contract. Also selected was [[Lockheed Martin|Lockheed Martin Missiles and Space]] located in [[Sunnyvale, California]].<ref name=contracts/> The two contracts, which included the mission formulation and implementation phases, were announced in September 1998 and worth a total of over US$200&nbsp;million. The formulation phase of the mission included initial mission design and planning for the full scale implementation of the mission.<ref name=contracts>Platt, Jane. "[http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/releases/98/simcontractor.html Contractors chosen for Space Interferometry Mission] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170316073237/https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/releases/98/simcontractor.html |date=16 March 2017 }}", ([[Press Release]]), NASA, 10 September 1998, ''Jet Propulsion Laboratory''. Retrieved 24 April 2007.</ref> At the time of the NASA announcement, launch was scheduled for 2005 and the mission was part of the [[Origins Program]], a series of missions designed to answer questions such as the origin of life Earth.<ref name=contracts/>

In August 2000, NASA asked project managers to consider looking at the [[Space Shuttle]], instead of the previously proposed EELV, as a launch vehicle.<ref name=shuttle>Unwin, Steve. "[http://planetquest.jpl.nasa.gov/Navigator/library/newsletters/8-00.txt SIM Project Update] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070513062124/http://planetquest.jpl.nasa.gov/Navigator/library/newsletters/8-00.txt |date=13 May 2007 }}", ''Fringes: Space Interferometry Mission Newsletter'', Number 13, 24 August 2000. Retrieved 25 April 2007.</ref> In late November 2000, NASA announced that the project's scientific team was selected. The group included notable names from the world of [[extrasolar planet]] research.<ref name=team/> The entire group consisted of 10 principal investigators and five mission specialists.<ref name=team>Platt, Jane. "[http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/releases/2000/sim.html Science team chosen for Space Interferometry Mission] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071113045938/http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/releases/2000/sim.html |date=13 November 2007 }}", ([[Press Release]]), NASA, 28 November 2000, ''Jet Propulsion Laboratory''. Retrieved 24 April 2007.</ref> At the time of this NASA announcement launch was scheduled for 2009 and the mission was still part of the Origins Program.<ref name=team/>

===New technologies===
SIM's new technology was meant to lead to the development of telescopes powerful enough to take images of Earth-like [[extrasolar planets]] orbiting distant stars and to determine whether those planets are [[Planetary habitability|able to sustain life]]. NASA has already started developing future missions that will build on SIM's technological legacy.<ref name=pqmissions>"[http://planetquest.jpl.nasa.gov/missions/missions_index.cfm# Planet Finding Missions: The Big Picture] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070428181159/http://planetquest.jpl.nasa.gov/missions/missions_index.cfm |date=28 April 2007 }}", Missions, NASA, PlanetQuest, ''Jet Propulsion Laboratory''. Retrieved 24 April 2007.</ref> The technological development phase of the mission was completed in November 2006 with the announcement that the eight, mission-technology-milestones set by NASA were reached.<ref name=tech/><ref name=goals/> The milestones were necessary steps in the technological development before flight control instruments could begin to be designed. The completion of each milestone meant that new systems had to be developed for [[nanometer]] control as well as [[picometer]] knowledge technology; these systems enable the telescope to make its accurate measurements with extreme accuracy.<ref name=tech>"[http://www.irconnect.com/noc/press/pages/news_releases.mhtml?d=108763 Star- and Planet-Mapping Telescope Mission Ready to Move Forward]", ([[Press Release]]), Northrop Grumman, 14 November 2006. Retrieved 24 April 2007</ref>
[[Image:SIM-Testbed-590.jpg|thumb|left|Engineers at JPL examine components on an optical bench that simulates the precision performance of NASA's future SIM Lite mission.]]
One of the new technologies developed for the mission were high-tech "rulers", capable of making measurements in increments a fraction of the width of a [[hydrogen]] atom. In addition, the rulers were developed to work as a [[Network analysis (electrical circuits)|network]]. The mission team also created "[[shock absorber]]s" to alleviate the effects of tiny vibrations in the spacecraft which would impede accurate measurements. Another of the milestones involved combining the new "rulers" and "shock absorbers" to prove that the Space Interferometry Mission craft could detect the tiny wobbles in stars caused by Earth-sized planets. The fifth of the technology milestones required the demonstration of the Microarcsecond Metrology Testbed at a performance of 3,200&nbsp;picometers over its wide angle field of view. The wide angle measurements were to be used to determine the fixed positions of stars each time they were measured. This level of performance demonstrated SIM Lite's ability to calculate the [[astrometry|astrometric]] grid. Another key development, known as gridless narrow-angle astrometry ([[GNAA]]), was the ability to apply the measurement capability worked out in the wide angle milestone and take it a step further, into narrow-angle measurements. Aiming to give an accuracy of 1 micro-arcsecond to the early stages of the SIM,<ref>High-precision early mission narrow angle science with the Space Interferometry Mission" by Shaklan, S., Milman, M. H., Pan, X., ''JPL Report''Issue Date: 22 August 2002 [http://hdl.handle.net/2014/37180]</ref><ref>{{cite journal |doi=10.1016/j.actaastro.2007.01.036 |title=The SIM PlanetQuest science program |date=2007 |last1=Edberg |first1=S |last2=Traub |first2=W |last3=Unwin |first3=S |last4=Marriv |first4=J |journal=Acta Astronautica |volume=61 |issue=1–6 |pages=52–62 |bibcode = 2007AcAau..61...52E |url=https://trs.jpl.nasa.gov/bitstream/2014/40982/1/06-2967.pdf }}</ref><ref>[http://sim.jpl.nasa.gov/scienceMotivations/diverseAreas/science_shaklan.pdf A New Approach to Micro-arcsecond Astrometry with SIM Allowing Early Mission Narrow Angle Measurements of Compelling Astronomical Targets] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110722171456/http://sim.jpl.nasa.gov/scienceMotivations/diverseAreas/science_shaklan.pdf |date=22 July 2011 }}</ref> the technique allows star positions to be measured without first setting up a grid of reference stars; instead, it sets up a reference frame using several reference stars and a target star observed from different locations, and star positions are calculated using delay measurements from separate observations. The narrow angle field was to be used by SIM to detect [[terrestrial planet]]s; the team applied the same criteria to both the narrow and wide angle measurements.<ref name=goals>"[http://planetquest.jpl.nasa.gov/SIM/sim_milestones.cfm The eight technology milestones] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070509085545/http://planetquest.jpl.nasa.gov/SIM/sim_milestones.cfm |date=9 May 2007 }}", NASA, SIM PlanetQuest, ''Jet Propulsion Laboratory''. Retrieved 24 April 2007.</ref> The final requirement before beginning work on flight controls was to make sure that all of the systems developed for the mission worked cohesively; this final NASA technology goal was completed last as it was dependent upon the others.

===Status after 2006===
Between the end of April and June 2006 the project completed three engineering milestones and from 2–8 November 2006 SIM completed a "Spacecraft Internal Design Review."<ref name=status/> As of June 2008, all of the eight engineering milestones were successfully completed.<ref name=goals />

The project had been in Phase B since June 2003.<ref name=status>"[http://planetquest.jpl.nasa.gov/SIM/SIMCurrentMissionStatus.cfm SIM Current Mission Status] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070505055824/http://planetquest.jpl.nasa.gov/SIM/SIMCurrentMissionStatus.cfm |date=5 May 2007 }}," NASA, SIM PlanetQuest, Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Retrieved 25 April 2007</ref> Jet Propulsion Laboratory's "Phase B" is called the "Preliminary Design" phase.<ref name=milestone/> Phase B further develops the mission concept developed during Phase A to prepare the project for entry into the Implementation Phase of the project. Requirements are defined, schedules are determined, and specifications are prepared to initiate system design and development."<ref name=chap7/> In addition, as part of Phase B, the SIM Lite project was to go through a number of reviews by NASA including System Requirements Review, System Design Review, and Non-Advocate Review.<ref name=chap7>Doody, Dave and Stephan, George. "[http://www2.jpl.nasa.gov/basics/bsf7-1.html Chapter 7 – Mission Inception Overview] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070510083802/http://www2.jpl.nasa.gov/basics/bsf7-1.html |date=10 May 2007 }}", ''Basics of Spaceflight'', NASA, 1993 and other editions, Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Retrieved 25 April 2007.</ref> During this phase, experiments would have been proposed, peer reviewed, and eventually selected by NASA's Office of Space Science. Experiment selections are based on scientific value, cost, management, engineering, and safety.<ref name=chap7/>

===Planned launch===
[[Image:Atlas V 551 roars into blue sky.jpg|thumb|right|An [[Atlas V|Atlas V 551]], such as this one launching the [[New Horizons]] probe, was one of the possible launch vehicles for SIM.<ref name=astrorequest>{{Cite web |title=SIM Lite Astrometric Observatory Response to the Request for Information from Astro2010 |url=http://planetquest.jpl.nasa.gov/SIM/Documents/SIMLiteRFI-Final-highres.pdf |access-date=30 March 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100625070629/http://planetquest.jpl.nasa.gov/SIM/Documents/SIMLiteRFI-Final-highres.pdf |archive-date=25 June 2010 }}</ref>]]
The launch date for the SIM Lite mission was pushed back at least five times.<ref name=northrop/><ref name=contracts/><ref name=team/><ref name=budget1/> At the program's outset, in 1998, the launch was scheduled for 2005.<ref name=contracts/> By 2000, the launch date had been delayed until 2009, a date that held through 2003; though some project scientists cited 2008 in late 2000.<ref name=team/><ref name=milestone/><ref name=halverson>Halverson, Peter G., et al. "[http://planetquest.jpl.nasa.gov/Navigator/library/technical_papers/ProgressPicoMetroPaper.pdf Progress towards picometer accuracy laser metrology for the Space Interferometry Mission] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081219192231/http://planetquest.jpl.nasa.gov/Navigator/library/technical_papers/ProgressPicoMetroPaper.pdf |date=19 December 2008 }}", NASA, PlanetQuest, ''Jet Propulsion Laboratory''; paper originally released 17 October 2000 and presented at the International Conference of Space Optics, ICSO 2000, 5–7 December 2000, [[Toulouse]], France. Retrieved 25 April 2007.</ref> Between 2004 and 2006, contractor Northrop Grumman, the company designing and developing SIM, listed a launch date of 2011 on their website.<ref name=northrop/> With the release of the FY 2007 NASA budget, predictions changed again, this time to a date no earlier than 2015 or 2016.<ref name=budget1/> The delay of the launch date was primarily related to budget cuts made to the SIM Lite program.<ref name=budget1/><ref name=fringes/> The 2007 change represented a difference of about three years from the 2006 launch date, outlined in NASA's FY 2006 budget as being two years behind 2005 budget predictions.<ref name=budget1/><ref name=FY2006/>
Other groups predicted dates matching officially predicted launch dates; the NASA Exoplanet Science Institute (formerly the Michelson Science Center) at the [[California Institute of Technology]] also set the date at 2015.<ref name=msc>"[http://msc.caltech.edu/missions/SIMPQ/ Space Interferometry Mission (SIM)] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070617080548/http://msc.caltech.edu/missions/SIMPQ/ |date=17 June 2007 }}", Missions, Michelson Science Center, ''California Institute of Technology''. Retrieved 24 April 2007.</ref> As of June 2008, NASA has postponed the launch date "indefinitely".<ref name=status/>

A May 2005 NASA operating plan put the mission into a replanning phase through the spring of 2006. The launch was planned to be via an [[Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle]] (EELV), likely an [[Atlas V|Atlas V 521]] or equivalent.<ref name=astrorequest/>

===Budget===
SIM Lite was to be considered the flagship mission of NASA's Exoplanet Exploration Program (formerly known as the Navigator Program). According to the 2007 Presidential Budget for NASA, the program is, "a coherent series of increasingly challenging projects, each complementary to the others and each mission building on the results and capabilities of those that preceded it as NASA searches for habitable planets outside of the Solar System."<ref name=budget1>[http://www.nasa.gov/pdf/142458main_FY07_budget_full.pdf FY 2007 NASA Budget] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210228042519/https://www.nasa.gov/pdf/142458main_FY07_budget_full.pdf |date=28 February 2021 }}, ''NASA'', pg. 80–81. Retrieved 2 November 2006.</ref> The program, in addition to the Space Interferometry Mission, includes the [[Keck Interferometer]] and the [[Large Binocular Telescope]] Interferometer. When originally approved in 1996, the mission was given a $700&nbsp;million cap (in 1996 dollars) which included launch costs and five years of operation.<ref name=aerospace/> The first contracts, for the preliminary architecture study, were worth $200,000 each.<ref name=aerospace>{{cite news|url=https://aviationweek.com/nasa-picks-three-teams-study-space-interferometry|title=NASA picks three teams to study space interferometry|date=January 14, 1997|publisher=Aviation Week|access-date=December 5, 2022}}</ref>
[[Image:Keck obervatories.jpg|thumb|left|The telescopes at the [[Keck Observatory]] are used as the [[Keck Interferometer]], another of NASA's Exoplanet Exploration programs to suffer budget cuts in 2007.<ref name=budget3>"[http://www.nasa.gov/pdf/142458main_FY07_budget_full.pdf FY 2007 NASA Budget]", ''NASA'', p. 85. Retrieved 25 April 2007.</ref>]]
NASA's budget outlined plans for the three projects for [[fiscal year]] (FY) 2007. Of the three missions, SIM Lite was delayed further and the Keck Interferometer saw budget cuts.<ref name=budget1/><ref name=budget3/> The 2007 NASA budget stipulated, "SIM Phase B activity will continue while new cost and schedule plans are developed, consistent with recent funding decisions."<ref name=budget1/> The funding decisions included a US$118.5&nbsp;million cut over the FY 2006 NASA budget request for the Exoplanet Exploration Program. The budget also laid out projections for the program through the year 2010. Each year will have successive funding cuts, if compared to the 2006 request numbers. Starting with FY 2008, the Exoplanet Exploration Program will receive around $223.9&nbsp;million less compared to 2006. The following years will have cuts of $155.2&nbsp;million in 2009 and $172.5&nbsp;million in 2010, compared to the 2006 request.<ref name=budget1/>

When SIM Lite entered what JPL terms "Phase B" in 2003 ''Fringes: Space Interferometry Mission Newsletter'', called it a most important milestone on the way to a 2009 launch.<ref name=milestone>"[http://planetquest.jpl.nasa.gov/Navigator/library/newsletters/06-20-03.txt SIM enters Phase B!] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061001162135/http://planetquest.jpl.nasa.gov/Navigator/library/newsletters/06-20-03.txt |date=1 October 2006 }}", ''Fringes: Space Interferometry Mission Newsletter'', 20 June 2003. Retrieved 2 November 2006.</ref> The delays are budgetary in nature.<ref name=fringes/><ref name=FY2006>[http://www.nasa.gov/pdf/107486main_FY06_high.pdf FY 2006 NASA Budget] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131122150402/http://www.nasa.gov/pdf/107486main_FY06_high.pdf |date=22 November 2013 }}, ''NASA'', p. 65. Retrieved 25 April 2007.</ref> In 2006, the mission received $117&nbsp;million, an increase of $8.1&nbsp;million over the previous year, but 2007 cuts amounted to $47.9&nbsp;million less for the SIM program. In 2008, $128.7&nbsp;million of the $223.9&nbsp;million estimated to be cut from the Exoplanet Program budget would come from the SIM Lite mission. After an additional $51.9&nbsp;million decrease in FY 2009,<ref name=budget2>[http://www.nasa.gov/pdf/142458main_FY07_budget_full.pdf FY 2007 NASA Budget] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210228042519/https://www.nasa.gov/pdf/142458main_FY07_budget_full.pdf |date=28 February 2021 }}, (PDF), NASA, pg. 83. Retrieved 2 November 2006.</ref> the program was reduced to $6 million in FY 2010 supplemented by substantial carryover from the previous year while awaiting the results of the Astronomy and Astrophysics Decadal Survey, Astro2010.<ref name=astro2010>"[http://sites.nationalacademies.org/BPA/BPA_049810 Astro2010: The Astronomy and Astrophysics Decadal Survey] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191025231435/http://sites.nationalacademies.org/bpa/BPA_049810 |date=25 October 2019 }}", National Academy of Sciences. Retrieved 31 March 2010.</ref>

By February 2007 many of the budget cuts outlined in the FY 2007 budget were already being felt within the project. Engineers who worked on SIM were forced to find other areas to work in.<ref name=fringes/> A February 2007 editorial in the ''Space Interferometry Mission Newsletter'' described the situation as, "entirely due to budget pressures and priorities within the Science Mission Directorate at NASA (with) scientific motivation for the mission...as strong as ever."<ref name=fringes/> NASA, per the budget cuts, directed the SIM project to refocus its efforts toward engineering [[risk management|risk reduction]]. As of the February 2007 newsletter the plans for the refocus were in the process of being completed.<ref name=fringes>Unwin, Steve, ed. "[http://planetquest.jpl.nasa.gov/Navigator/library/newsletters/02-27-07.txt Editorial] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070713163945/http://planetquest.jpl.nasa.gov/Navigator/library/newsletters/02-27-07.txt |date=13 July 2007 }}", ''Fringes: Space Interferometry Mission Newsletter'', No. 40, 27 February 2007. Retrieved 24 April 2007.</ref>