Opportunities in High Magnetic Field Science: Letter Report (BPA)

In recent years the field of high magnetic field science has become increasingly important to other disciplines, including biology. In 2002, the National Science Foundation concluded that there was a need for an assessment of the field in the United States to set the stage for future planning. Accordingly, it requested that the NRC assess the current state and future prospects for high-magnetic-field science and instrumentation in the United States. This letter report provides a status report of that study. The letter report offers a brief assessment of the current position of the United States in this field and lists a series of questions that will be addressed in the final report.

Comments on IB Docket No. 02-10: Procedures to Govern the Use of Satellite Earth Stations on Board Vessels in Bands Shared with Terrestrial Fixed Service (BPA)

Comments on the Matter of Establishment of an Interference Temperature Metric to Quantify and Manage Interference and to Expand Available Unlicensed Operation in Certain Fixed, Mobile and Satellite Frequency Bands (BPA-CORF)

Smaller Facilities: Letter Report (BPA)

The Committee on Smaller Facilities is review the current state of small and mid-sized facilities for materials research in the United States at the request of NSF and DOE. Such facilities play a major role in materials research, but they are widely considered to be less than optimally developed or used. To address this concern, the NRC was asked to assess these facilities to help determine ways to use them more effectively. This letter report presents key topics that the committee will explore in depth to carry out this assessment. In particular, the study will assess the characteristics of successful smaller facilities and challenges they face. Recommendations will be provided to enhance the effectiveness of such facilities in performing materials research.

Response to National Telecommunication and Information Administration Spectrum Policy Review (BPA-CORF)

Allocation of frequency spectrum for commercial use by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) can have a significant effect on scientific research such as radio astronomy. This report is one in a series from the NRC that examines the needs for radio frequency requirements and interference protection for scientific and engineering research, coordinates the views of the U.S. scientists, and acts as a channel for representing the interests of U.S. scientists in the work of the inter-union commission on frequency allocations for radio astronomy and space science (IUCAF) of the International Council of Scientific Unions. This report presents the response of the National Academies to a Notice of Inquiry of the National Telecommunication and Information Administration about a number of issues including passive scientific use of the spectrum.

Comments to the FCC on Broadband Over Powerline Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ET Docket NO. 03-104) (BPA-CORF)

Comments to the FCC on Cognitive Radio Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ET Docket No. 03-108) (BPA-CORF0

Plasma Physics of the Local Cosmos (SSB)

Solar and space physics is the study of solar system phenomena that occur in the plasma state. Examples include sunspots, the solar wind, planetary magnetospheres, radiation belts, and the aurora. While each is a distinct phenomenon, there are commonalities among them. To help define and systematize these universal aspects of the field of space physics, the National Research Council was asked by NASA’s Office of Space Science to provide a scientific assessment and strategy for the study of magnetized plasmas in the solar system. This report presents that assessment. It covers a number of important research goals for solar and space physics. The report is complementary to the NRC report, The Sun to the Earth—and Beyond: A Decadal Research Strategy for Solar and Space Physics, which presents priorities and strategies for future program activities.

Report Summary

Comments on the FCC Notice for Proposed Rulemaking on Unlicensed Operation in the TV Broadcast Bands (ET Docket No. 04-186) and Additional Spectrum for Unlicensed Devices Below 900 MHz and in the 3 GHz Band (ET Docket No. 02-380) (BPA)

Assessment of Options for Extending the Life of the Hubble Space Telescope (SSB, ASEB)

The Hubble Space Telescope (HST) has operated continuously since 1990. During that time, four space shuttle-based service missions were launched, three of which added major observational capabilities. A fifth — SM-4 — was intended to replace key telescope systems and install two new instruments. The loss of the space shuttle Columbia, however, resulted in a decision by NASA not to pursue the SM-4 mission leading to a likely end of Hubble’s useful life in 2007-2008. This situation resulted in an unprecedented outcry from scientists and the public. As a result, NASA began to explore and develop a robotic servicing mission; and Congress directed NASA to request a study from the National Research Council (NRC) of the robotic and shuttle servicing options for extending the life of Hubble. This report presents an assessment of those two options. It provides an examination of the contributions made by Hubble and those likely as the result of a servicing mission, and a comparative analysis of the potential risk of the two options for servicing Hubble. The study concludes that the Shuttle option would be the most effective one for prolonging Hubble’s productive life.