|
|
|
|
|
|
by mturmon
4647 days ago
|
|
|
Smart comment. Adaptive optics have rearranged the fundamental drivers for visible-light astronomy. And a lot of physics experts who were working on high-resolution space-based telescopes, telescopes that are in many cases are now replaceable by ground telescopes, have paid a heavy price for this fact. Technology can be a tough field sometimes. If you want to see what is likely to be built in the next decade, you can start at: http://sites.nationalacademies.org/bpa/BPA_049810 Go to the last report on the web page ("2020 Vision") and go to page 17 of the PDF. It's all there. |
|
|
"What's likely" is, sadly, optimistic. I see that LISA's isn't likely to be built by the 2020s.
Reviewing the list of other space telescopes, WFIRST is now WFIRST-AFTA, with a change to use a second-hand NAO telescope.
NuSTAR and IRIS are two launched Small Explorer missions since 2010. (Oddly, they used an artist's concept of WISE to highlight the concept. Odd, because WISE was launched in 2009, so a 2010 publication should not have needed a concept image.) I haven't figured out what the new missions are/might be, but I didn't look too hard.
The International X-Ray Observatory has had a "reboot", to ATHENA (Advanced Telescope for High Energy Astrophysics). NASA withdrew from IXO.