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D. C. Slater, S. A. Stern, W. B. Colwell, D. D. Durda, D. E. Mahoney, J. Wm. Parker, P. M. Tamblyn, W. M. Tomlinson, V. Genau (Southwest Research Institute), M. A'Hearn (University of Maryland), L. J. Paxton (Applied Physics Laboratory, Johns Hopkins University), P. R. Weissman (Jet Propulsion Laboratory), F. Vilas, S. K. Robinson, S. A. Hawley (NASA/Johnson Space Center)
The Southwest UV Imaging System (SWUIS) is a compact, low-cost ultraviolet/visible/infrared imaging system designed for remote sensing observations from a manned platform in space. SWUIS has made two flights aboard the Space Shuttle on flights STS-85 in August 1997 and STS-93 scheduled for launch in late July 1999. During its maiden flight aboard STS-85, SWUIS collected > 4.1 x 105 images of comet Hale-Bopp (C/1995 O1) in key emission bands spanning the mid-UV/VIS wavelengths at a time when the solar elongation of Hale-Bopp was too small to permit HST and other UV observations. From this data set, H2O and dust production rates were calculated for Hale-Bopp at a heliocentric distance of 2.33 AU. The H2O production rate, QH2O, based on the observed brightness of the OH emission at 308.5 nm, was 2.6 ± 0.4 x 1029 s-1. Hale-Bopp's dust production parameter, Af\rho, was 2.0 ± 0.8 x 105 cm. We will present these results along with preliminary UV imaging results of the Moon and other planetary targets taken during the STS-93 flight (assuming all goes as planned with this mission). In addition, we will describe the capabilities of SWUIS and its interface to the Space Shuttle.