[mmaimcal] MMA in the budget

[Al Wootten]

Millimeter Array. The budget document states: "The FY 1999 Budget Request for MMA is $9.0 million for the second year of the Design and
Development Phase. The total funding of the three-year Design and Development Phase of the MMA project is $26.0 million. Total costs for the MMA
project are estimated to be approximately $220 million. International or other agency participation at the 25-50% level is being actively sought for the
project. Funding for the 5-year capital construction phase will be requested only after appropriate approvals by the National Science Board. Following
the Design and Development phase, NSF will decide whether to proceed to the second phase, a five-year Capital Construction Phase. This two-step
process will enable NSF to evaluate the project before undertaking major expenditures." 



ASTRONOMICAL SCIENCES: 

"The FY 1999 Budget Request for the Astronomical Sciences Subactivity is $127.99 million, an increase of $10.17 million, or 8.6 percent, over the FY 1998
Current Plan of $117.82 million" 

"Funding is requested in FY 1999 for continued design and development of the Millimeter Array, a radio telescope operating at millimeter wavelengths."
A forthcoming FYI on NSF's Major Research Equipment request will provide additional information. 

"The FY 1999 Budget Request includes $50.88 million, an [12.0%] increase of $5.45 million from the FY 1998 Current Plan of $45.43 million, for
Astronomy Research and Instrumentation to support the scientific priorities in cosmology, the formation of stars and planets, and planetary
atmospheres. A number of these activities include interagency partnerships. Priorities in instrumentation support will continue for the development of
adaptive optics systems for moderate-aperture telescopes, particularly focusing on the search for extra-solar planets. The additional $5.45 million will
be provided to support an initiative involving the origin and evolution of the Universe itself as well as the galaxies, stars, and planets it contains. Support
will also be provided related to the Life in Extreme Environments (LExEn) activity within the NSF Life and Earth's Environment (LEE) initiative. 

"Within Facilities: 

"$6.98 million, an increase of $720,000 from the FY 1998 Current Plan of $6.26 million, for the Gemini Observtories to provide increased operational
support for the two 8-meter telescopes currently being constructed in Hawaii and Chile by the United States and its international partners. 

"$8.27 million for NAIC [National Astronomy and Ionosphere Center], level with the FY 1998 Current Plan. Support will be maintained for the operation
and maintenance of the renovated Arecibo Telescope and for development of instrumentation to take advantage of its new capabilities. 

"$29.72 million, an increase of $2.0 million, for NOAO [National Optical Astronomy Observatories] provides the U.S. astronomical community with
observational facilities in both the Northern and Southern Hemispheres. Support is provided for operations and maintenance of the unique telescopes of
these observatories, including the now-operational Global Oscillation Network Group, which permits monitoring of small-scale oscillations of the sun.
Funding at this level will also provide for the development of state-of-the-art instrumentation for these telescopes. Enhanced support, initiated in FY
1998, will be provided for construction of instrumentation for the Synoptic Optical Long Term Investigation of the Sun (SOLIS). SOLIS will enable refined
studies of the sun's atmosphere and surface, including determining conditions which give rise to solar flares. 

"$32.14 million, an increase of $2.0 million, for NRAO [National Radio Astronomy Observatory] will provide for the operations and maintenance of
telescopes such as the Very Large Array and the Very Long Baseline Array, and for the development of instrumentation for the Greenbank Telescope
under construction in West Virginia. The Very Large Array and the Very Long Baseline Array are unique instruments that provide for very high resolution
images of astronomical objects at radio wavelengths. Incremental funds will be used for development of new instrumentation making use of advanced
technology in detectors and digital design." 

Clear skies,
Al