Useful life of astrophysical scientific facilities

P. Márquez, O. Martínez, J.M. Miranda

World Journal of Engineering and Technology Vol. 9, nº. 4, pp. 804 - 815

Summary:

Large-scale astrophysical facilities have become increasingly relevant in certain key areas of scientific research but typically require strong financial investments. It is, therefore, crucial to gain a deep understanding of what could be a foreseeable lifespan of a given instrument before providing the required fund to build it. In this paper, we intend to contribute to this understanding with a study of the lifespan of past, current and future observatories and telescopes. The methodology has been based on the compilation of relevant data from twenty telescopes, three of them mounted on space satellites and the other seventeen distributed worldwide. An analysis of the main limiting factors that affect the lifetime of an astrophysical facility is also presented.

Keywords: Lifespan, Obsolescence, Astrophysical Instruments, Telescopes

DOI reference: https://doi.org/10.4236/wjet.2021.94056

Published on paper: November 2021.

Published on-line: November 2021.

Citation:
P. Márquez, O. Martínez, J.M. Miranda, Useful life of astrophysical scientific facilities. World Journal of Engineering and Technology. Vol. 9, nº. 4, pp. 804 - 815, November 2021. [Online: November 2021]