Goddard's Astrophysics Science Division Annual Report 2014 5B
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NASA/TM-2015-217531 Goddard’s Astrophysics Science Division Annual Report 2014 Kimberly Weaver and Francis Reddy, Editors Pat Tyler, Graphical Editor NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Greenbelt, Maryland 20771 June 2015 NASA/TM-2015-217531 Goddard’s Astrophysics Science Division Annual Report 2014 Kimberly Weaver NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Maryland Francis Reddy Syneren Technologies, Inc., Greenbelt, Maryland Pat Tyler, Graphical Editor Syneren Technologies, Inc., Greenbelt, Maryland National Aeronautics and Space Administration Goddard Space Flight Center Greenbelt, Maryland 20771 June 2015 Available from: NASA Center for AeroSpace Information National Technical Information Service 7115 Standard Drive 5285 Port Royal Road Hanover, MD 21076-1320 Springfield, VA 22161 Astrophysics Science Division Annual Report 2014 Contents Astrophysics Science Division .................................................................................1 Introduction ..................................................................................................................................................1 2014 Year in Review ....................................................................................................................................3 Photos ..........................................................................................................................................................5 Projects in Operation ...................................................................................................................................9 Fermi .......................................................................................................................................................9 The Hubble Space Telescope (HST) ..................................................................................................... 10 HEASARC ..............................................................................................................................................11 Projects in Development ........................................................................................................................... 14 James Webb Space Telescope (JWST)................................................................................................. 14 Neutron Star Interior Composition Explorer (NICER) ....................................................................... 16 Wide Field InfraRed Survey Telescope-Astrophysics Focused Telescope Assets (WFIRST-AFTA) ...17 Mission and Instrument Concepts ............................................................................................................ 18 ISS-Lobster ........................................................................................................................................... 18 Future Large-Aperture Space Observatories ....................................................................................... 18 Human Operations Beyond Low Earth Orbit ...................................................................................... 19 CubeSat/SmallSat Science Strategic Vision Science Task Group (STG) Project .....................................20 ECG: The Exoplanet Climatology Group ..................................................................................................20 Education and Public Outreach .................................................................................................................21 PCOS/COR E/PO ..................................................................................................................................21 Astrophysics Missions E/PO .................................................................................................................21 JWST .................................................................................................................................................21 Suzaku & Astro-H ............................................................................................................................22 Grants and External Collaborations ....................................................................................................22 ASD Press and Communications .........................................................................................................23 New Faces ..................................................................................................................................................24 Awards ..................................................................................................................................................27 Astroparticle Physics Laboratory ......................................................................... 28 Science Highlights .....................................................................................................................................29 Swift Detection of a Superflare from DG CVn .....................................................................................29 Fermi Reveals Novae to be New Class of Gamma-ray Sources ...........................................................30 Galactic Center Observations by Swift ..................................................................................................31 Projects in Operation .................................................................................................................................33 Swift ......................................................................................................................................................33 Mission and Instrument Concepts ............................................................................................................34 RATIR and RIMAS ...............................................................................................................................34 Space Station Attached Payloads ..............................................................................................................35 Calorimetric Electron Telescope (CALET) ...........................................................................................35 ISS Cosmic Ray Energetics and Mass (ISS-CREAM) ......................................................................... 35 Suborbital ..................................................................................................................................................36 Balloon-Borne Experiment with a Superconducting Spectrometer—Polar (BESS-Polar) .................36 Super TransIron Galactic Element Recorder (SuperTIGER) .............................................................. 37 Technology Development .......................................................................................................................... 37 Advanced Energetic Pair Telescope (AdEPT) ...................................................................................... 37 X-ray Astrophysics Laboratory ............................................................................ 39 Science Highlights ..................................................................................................................................... 41 RXTE Decodes Rhythm of an Unusual Black Hole ............................................................................. 41 Resurrecting the Local Hot Bubble ......................................................................................................42 Iron “Fingerprints” Distinguish Supernova Remnants .......................................................................44 Contents i Annual Report 2014 Astrophysics Science Division Projects in Development ...........................................................................................................................46 ASTRO-H ..............................................................................................................................................46 Projects in Operation .................................................................................................................................50 Suzaku (Astro-E2) ................................................................................................................................50 Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array (NuSTAR) ..............................................................................51 XMM-Newton Guest Observer Facility ................................................................................................52 Sounding Rocket Program ........................................................................................................................53 Diffuse X-ray Emission from the Local Galaxy (DXL) ........................................................................ 53 Micro-X .................................................................................................................................................54 Off-Plane Gratings Rocket Experiment (OGRE) .................................................................................54 X-ray Quantum Calorimeter (XQC) ..................................................................................................... 55 Instrumentation and Technology Development .......................................................................................56 X-ray Calorimeter Development ..........................................................................................................56 Laboratory Astrophysics Using an X-ray