REMOTE ACCESS OBSERVATORIES IN LOW EARTH ORBIT-A LOW-COST CONCEPT

In parallel with the evolution of large observatory spacecraft such as the Einstein, Copernicus, and IUE, and the yet-to-be-Iaunched Hubble Space Telescope and Gamma Ray Observatory, Increasingly large ground telescopes are In construction which will allow ground astronomy to compete favorably with elaborate and expen!)lve space systems In the quest for new discoveries. Sometimes overlooked In this pursuit of new discoveries, with the limited observational time on the space Instruments, or the oversubscribed large ground Instruments, Is the recent development of smaller, low-cost robotic ground observatories designed for routine- but vital- collection of synoptic data. High-quality stellar observations are now being made by exploitation of new computer and detector technologies In unattended remote ground observatories, typically by modest aperture Instruments tailored to the Job. These Instruments operate In modes similar to those employed In the observatory spacecraft. Recent developments In the small satellite technology, some being reported at this conference, allow a reduced cost of payload delivery Into orbit and suggest that another look Is deserved at the 1960s ' concept of small astronomical satellites, which would be operable by simple command systems to conduct monitoring of variable, flare, and cataclysmic stars, perhaps limited only to precision filter photometry or simple Imaging In wavelengths not accessible from the ground. These would allow conduct of bread-and-butter astronomy at and accuracies wavelengths available only In space on objects Identified by the larger research Instruments, undertaking science too costly to pursue over long periods with multi-billion dollar systems