George Henry Rieke's Books

The Last of the Great Observatories

Spitzer and the Era of Faster, Better, Cheaper at NASA

By: George Henry Rieke

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The Last of the Great Observatories

Spitzer and the Era of Faster, Better, Cheaper at NASA

By: George Henry Rieke

The Spitzer Space Observatory, originally known as the Space Infrared Telescope Facility (SIRTF), is the last of the four “Great Observatories”, which also include the Hubble Space Telescope, the Chandra X-ray Observatory, and the Compton Gamma Ray Observatory. Developed over twenty years and dubbed the “Infrared Hubble", Spitzer was launched in the summer of 2003 and has since contributed significantly to our understanding of the universe. George Rieke played a key role in Spitzer and now relates the story of how that observatory was built and launched into space. Telling the story of this single mission within the context of NASA space science over two turbulent decades, he describes how, after a tortuous political trail to approval, Spitzer was started at the peak of NASA’s experiment with streamlining and downsizing its mission development process, termed “faster better cheaper.” Up to its official start and even afterward, Spitzer was significant not merely in terms of its scientific value but because it stood at the center of major changes in space science policy and politics. Through interviews with many of the project participants, Rieke reconstructs the political and managerial process by which space missions are conceived, approved, and developed. He reveals that by the time Spitzer had been completed, a number of mission failures had undermined faith in “faster-better-cheaper” and a more conservative approach was imposed. Rieke examines in detail the premises behind “faster better cheaper,” their strengths and weaknesses, and their ultimate impact within the context of NASA’s continuing search for the best way to build future missions. Rieke’s participant’s perspective takes readers inside Congress and NASA to trace the progress of missions prior to the excitement of the launch, revealing the enormously complex and often disheartening political process that needs to be negotiated. He also shares some of the new observations and discoveries made by Spitzer in just its first year of operation. As the only book devoted to the Spitzer mission, The Last of the Great Observatories is a story at the nexus of politics and science, shedding new light on both spheres as it contemplates the future of mankind’s exploration of the universe.

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Page Count

252

Publisher

University of Arizona Press

Published Date

ISBN 10

0816525587

ISBN 13

9780816525584

The Last of the Great Observatories

Spitzer and the Era of Faster, Better, Cheaper at NASA

By: George H. Rieke

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The Last of the Great Observatories

Spitzer and the Era of Faster, Better, Cheaper at NASA

By: George H. Rieke

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Page Count

249

Publisher

University of Arizona Press

Published Date

ISBN 10

0816547106

ISBN 13

9780816547104

Detection of Light

By: George H. Rieke

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Detection of Light

By: George H. Rieke

Comprehensive, accessible, and physically based description of the approaches currently used to detect light, from X-ray to mm-wave.

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Page Count

381

Publisher

Cambridge University Press

Published Date

ISBN 10

110712414X

ISBN 13

9781107124141

Measuring the Universe

A Multiwavelength Perspective

By: George H. Rieke

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Measuring the Universe

A Multiwavelength Perspective

By: George H. Rieke

Astronomy is an observational science, renewed and even revolutionized by new developments in instrumentation. With the resulting growth of multiwavelength investigation as an engine of discovery, it is increasingly important for astronomers to understand the underlying physical principles and operational characteristics for a broad range of instruments. This comprehensive text is ideal for graduate students, active researchers and instrument developers. It is a thorough review of how astronomers obtain their data, covering current approaches to astronomical measurements from radio to gamma rays. The focus is on current technology rather than the history of the field, allowing each topic to be discussed in depth. Areas covered include telescopes, detectors, photometry, spectroscopy, adaptive optics and high-contrast imaging, millimeter-wave and radio receivers, radio and optical/infrared interferometry, and X-ray and gamma-ray astronomy, all at a level that bridges the gap between the basic principles of optics and the subject's abundant specialist literature. Color versions of figures and solutions to selected problems are available online at www.cambridge.org/9780521762298.

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Page Count

394

Publisher

Cambridge University Press

Published Date

ISBN 10

1139536079

ISBN 13

9781139536073

Probability in Petroleum and Environmental Engineering

By: George V Chilingar,Leonid F. Khilyuk,Herman H. Reike

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Probability in Petroleum and Environmental Engineering

By: George V Chilingar,Leonid F. Khilyuk,Herman H. Reike

Written by three of the world's most renowned petroleum and environmental engineers, Probability in Petroleum and Environmental Engineering is the first book to offer the practicing engineer and engineering student new cutting-edge techniques for prediction and forecasting in petroleum engineering and environmental management. The authors combine a rigorous, yet easy-to-understand, approach to probability and how it is applied to petroleum and environmental engineering to solve multiple problems that engineers or geologists face every day.

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Page Count

292

Publisher

Elsevier

Published Date

ISBN 10

0127999701

ISBN 13

9780127999708

Book's by George Henry Rieke

The Last of the Great Observatories

The Last of the Great Observatories

The Last of the Great Observatories

The Last of the Great Observatories

Detection of Light

Detection of Light

Measuring the Universe

Measuring the Universe

Probability in Petroleum and Environmental Engineering

Probability in Petroleum and Environmental Engineering

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