A major success in the reporting period was the completion of the Hipparcos and Tycho Catalogues, both of which were declared final in August 1996, only 3 years after the end of satellite operations. This completion date was, compared with those targeted pre-launch, within a month for the Hipparcos Catalogue, and a year in advance for Tycho. Despatch of Hipparcos data to PIs began in early August 1996 (immediately following the announced catalogue completion). In spite of the 'wrong orbit', the original goals of the mission (i.e. 2 milliarcsec for the five astrometric parameters) were significantly surpassed, with median astrometric accuracies of around 1 milliarcsec being reached. The same Hipparcos project scientist, who also took on the functions as project manager for the vast majority of the operational phase, stayed with the project and led the Hipparcos science team from mission selection in 1980 to this culminating moment.
ISO was launched in November 1995. Besides the 'usual' duties taken on by the Project Scientist, the Division was responsible for developing and staffing the ISO ground segment for scientific operations. The ISO-SOT completed its phased move from ESTEC to Villafranca for the operational phase of the mission in the first half of 1995. The execution of the critical initial phases of the mission went extremely smoothly, with schedules and timelines laid down in the months before launch (including the replanning due to a launch delay) being followed very accurately. Thus, it was possible to start routine observing in February 1996 - testament in part to the quality of the work performed by the full ISO-SOT in the hectic years of development prior to launch and the excellent team work afterwards.
Significant progress has been made on XMM, where the main activities of the project scientist have been to follow the development of the technology for the X-ray telescope systems, to conduct instrument reviews and to specify, with the support of the growing XMM-SOT, the ground segment for scientific operations. The scope of this last was defined and serious work was started on the majority; that part more concerned with operations per se was contracted out under the responsibility of ESOC, while the more scientific work was retained in the XMM-SOT. The launch of XMM is expected in 1999.
Following the selection of INTEGRAL as the M2 mission of Horizon 2000, the Instrument teams and the INTEGRAL Science Data Centre were selected. Here, under the Project Scientist, the Division has responsibility for INTEGRAL Science Operations and coordination of the science ground segment.
The goals, scope, payload complement and system design for FIRST (the Far-InfraRed and Submillimetre Telescope Cornerstone 4 mission) have been continually re-assessed by the FIRST Science Advisory Group, chaired by the Project Scientist, in an endeavour to reduce costs to the canonical limit while trying to maintain a world-class scientific capability.
With regard to potential future scientific projects, three staff filled the role of ESA study scientist in the Phase A studies of STARS (asteroseismology) and Planck (microwave background anisotropy) for the third medium-mission slot in Horizon 2000, with Planck being selected in mid-1996. Additionally, support was given by Division staff to the lunar study with regard to the deployment of interferometric and low frequency radio telescopes, to an HST 2002 instrument, and to the ongoing studies of GAIA, Darwin and Next Generation Space Telescope (NGST).
IUE was run fully from Villafranca for its final operational year, and 18 years of operations were terminated in September 1996. IUE funding will finish at the end of 1997 with the completion of the IUE 'final' archive, coordinated by the Division.
HST scientific operations are conducted at the STScI in Baltimore and at the ST-ECF in Garching, with the Head of the ECF in the role of HST project scientist (concerned essentially with operational and data archive activities).
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