Design for a low-cost geosynchronous 2.4-meter UV/EUV solar system observatory

Studies were initiated in 1995 at the Lockheed Martin Advanced Technology Center in Palo Alto to explore both the application of new technologies and the economical utilization of commercial products to the design of a new generation of scientific research satellites. A 2.4-meter Solar System Observatory (SSO) has been designed to carry out as its primary mission imaging and spectroscopy of comets and of the outer planets form geosynchronous orbit. Such a Hubble-class telescope with a science payload consisting of four UV/EUV spectrographs and a high- resolution imager having 0.06 arcsec spatial resolution can now be built and launched within the budget of a NASA Discovery Mission. Following a one-year science program under the direction of the principle investigator, the SSO would transition to a guest observer facility. Although optimized for cometary and planetary measurements, SSO would have outstanding capability for a variety of astrophysical measurements. SSO would also serve as a prototype for other similar low-cost space observatories that could be optimized for stellar, extragalactic and other applications.