RXTE AO-3 Announced

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

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      Third RXTE NRA Released: Proposals Due 5th September, 1997
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   The NASA Office of Space Science has now released the NRA for Cycle
3 of the Rossi X-ray Timing Explorer Guest Observer Program,
soliciting proposals for observations to be carried out beginning in
late 1997 and lasting twelve months. Proposals for observing time are
due
                     ** 5TH SEPTEMBER, 1997 **

   The text of the Announcement, plus the Appendices A-D, can be
obtained from either the NASA OSS WWW site at:

	http://www.hq.nasa.gov/office/oss

(select the "Research Opportunities" menu)

or the RXTE Guest Observer Facility pages at:

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

(select "Proposals and Planning Tools" -> "NASA Research Announcements")
or obtained in PostScript format from the anonymous FTP account at:

	legacy.gsfc.nasa.gov

in the /xte/nra/announcement directory.

   Printed copies may be also requested by sending Email to
xtehelp@athena.gsfc.nasa.gov. Technical questions about the RXTE
proposal process or software should also be directed to this address.

  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)

   Following the practice established in RXTE AO-1 and AO-2, and
described in the Appendices, the proposal review procedure will be
conducted in two stages for RXTE AO-3. 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 November '97). 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 RXTE SOF or
GOF. We therefore strongly advise proposers to allow sufficient time
to familiarize themselves with RXTE 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: Filling Out RXTE Proposal Forms 

 Appendix F: The RXTE Technical Appendix

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