Second RXTE NRA Released: Proposals Due 1st July, 1996

[Alan Smale <alan@osiris.gsfc.nasa.gov>]

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       Second RXTE NRA Released: Proposals Due 1st July, 1996
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XTENEWS#10                                          1st April 1996


   We are pleased to announce the release of NASA Research
Announcement (NRA) 96-RXTE-02, soliciting proposals for the second
cycle of the Rossi X-ray Timing Explorer Guest Observer Program.  
RXTE AO-2 will cover twelve months beginning in November 1996. 
Proposals for observing time are due   **  1ST JULY, 1996  **.

   The text of the Announcement, plus the Appendices A through E, 
can be seen on the RXTE GOF homepage at

        http://heasarc.gsfc.nasa.gov/docs/xte/xte_1st.html

or obtained in PostScript format from our anonymous FTP account at

        legacy.gsfc.nasa.gov

in the /xte/nra/announcement directory.

   A list of the Appendices and contents can be found at the end of
this message.

   Hardcopies of Appendices A-E may be also requested by sending Email
to   **  xtenra@athena.gsfc.nasa.gov  **. 

   Any questions about the RXTE proposal process or software should be
directed to   **  xtehelp@athena.gsfc.nasa.gov  **.

  The appendices can also be requested by sending papermail to

		Dr. Alan Smale
		RXTE Guest Observer Facility
		Code 660.2
		NASA-Goddard Space Flight Center
		Greenbelt, MD 20771, USA

		(FAX: USA-301-286-1682)

   Potential proposers should note that there are several important
changes for AO-2, chief among which are that the minimum observing
time that can be requested for a single observation has been raised
from 256sec to 1ksec, and that the PCA gain has been changed since
AO-1. Because of the latter change, proposers will need to obtain new
versions of PIMMS, recommd, and the response matrices to perform their
countrate estimation and mode selections. These resources will be
available soon; proposers should see the Web pages for updated
information.

   Following the practice established in XTE AO-1, and described in
the Appendices, the proposal review procedure will be conducted in two
stages for RXTE AO-2. PIs are not required to submit cost proposals
(budgets) until the second stage, which takes place after the
scientific and technical merits of the proposals have been assessed in
the Peer Review (scheduled for August). It is therefore not necessary
for Stage 1 proposals to include budget information, and NASA HQ does
not require an institutional signature on the General Form.

   Potential proposers are also reminded that RXTE has a wide variety
of possible observing modes each with its own telemetry cost, and that
observing configurations must be specified on the proposal forms -
they cannot be supplied later or chosen for you by the SOF or GOF. We
therefore encourage proposers to obtain their Appendices as soon as
possible, to allow time to familiarize themselves with the observatory
and to perform the necessary feasibility calculations and
configuration selections.

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			Appendix Contents:

 Appendix A: Mission Description 
 Appendix B: Guidelines for Responding to NASA Research Announcements
 Appendix C: Additional Information Regarding Proposal Submission,
      Evaluation, Selection and Implementation 
 Appendix D: Requests for Workstations
 Appendix E: Filling Out RXTE Proposal Forms 
 [Appendix F: The RXTE Technical Appendix (AO-1 version).]

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