The Wide Field Camera 3 (WFC3) is a fourth-generation HST instrument that will replace the Wide Field Planetary Camera 2 (WFPC2). The camera includes two channels: a UV/Visible (UVIS) channel and an infrared (IR) channel. The UVIS detector consists of two butted 2kx4k CCDs (160″x160″, 3 e- rms noise) and the IR detector is a 1kx1k HgCdTe array (120″x140″) cooled thermoelectrically. The camera possesses a large complement of narrow-, intermediate-, and broad-band filters (62 in UVIS, 15 in IR, and 3 grisms) distributed among 12 separate wheels for the UVIS and a single wheel for the IR.
Approximately two weeks before the scheduled Oct 14 launch for the servicing mission, a significant anomaly occured in the telescope, affecting the storage and transmission of science data to Earth. Although a switch to redundant electronics was eventually successful, the launch had to be delayed until next year (currently May 12, 2009). The instrument is now stored under purge in its protective enclosure in a clean room at the Kennedy Space Center. No further tests on the instrument are scheduled until launch.
Although the slip in the launch date is very disappointing, it offers valuable additional time and opportunities to refine the WFC3 support and calibration work by the instrument team at the Institute: 1) The team members are completing the analysis and publication of the ground calibration data acquired in the last thermal vacuum at the Goddard Space Flight Center to characterize all aspects of the instrument. 2) The technical aspects of all the approved Cycle 17 GO programs have been completed and the PIs have been contacted if any changes were required. 3) All the programs for the Servicing Mission Orbital Verification (SMOV) were finalized and implemented in expectation for an October launch. Because a new launch date, some programs are being revised, for example, to take into account the visibility of the targets. 4)
