SMITHSONIAN ASTROPHYSICAL OBSERVATORY
APPLICATION OF OPERATING RESOURCES
FEDERAL
APPROPRIATIONS
FTE
$000
GENERAL
TRUST
FTE
$000
DONOR/SPONSO
R DESIGNATED
FTE
$000
GOV’T GRANTS
& CONTRACTS
FTE
$000
FY 2004
ACTUAL
115
22,013
105
18,352
16
4,800
281
87,681
FY 2005
ESTIMATE
124
21,301
105
16,252
16
4,194
281
98,232
FY 2006
ESTIMATE
124
22,295
105
15,647
16
2,441
281
98,232
STRATEGIC GOALS: INCREASED PUBLIC ENGAGEMENT;
STRENGTHENED SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH; ENHANCED MANAGEMENT
EXCELLENCE
Federal Resource Summary by Performance Objective
Performance
Objective
FY 2005
FTE
$000
FY 2006
FTE
$000
Change
FTE
$000
Increased Public Engagement
Expand a national outreach effort
5
784
5
801
0
17
19,881
115
20,834
0
953
1
304
1
313
0
9
1
158
1
165
0
7
2
174
2
182
0
8
124
21,301
124
22,295
0
994
Strengthened Scientific Research
Conduct focused scientific research programs that are 115
recognized nationally and internationally
Enhanced Management Excellence
Modernize the Institution's information technology (IT)
systems and infrastructure
Ensure that the Smithsonian’s workforce is efficient,
collaborative, committed, and innovative
Recruit, hire, and maintain a diverse workforce and
promote equal opportunity
Total
BACKGROUND AND CONTEXT
The mission of the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory (SAO) is to
conduct research to increase understanding of the origin and evolution of the
universe and to communicate this information to the scientific community through
publications; to students through teaching; and to the broader public via open
presentations. SAO is the largest and most diverse astrophysical institution in the
world. It has pioneered the development of orbiting observatories and large,
ground-based telescopes; the application of computers to astrophysical
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problems; and the integration of laboratory measurements, theoretical
astrophysics, and observations across the electromagnetic spectrum.
Observational data are gathered by instruments aboard rockets, balloons, and
spacecraft, as well as by ground-based optical, infrared, and gamma-ray
telescopes at the Fred Lawrence Whipple Observatory in Arizona, including the
newly converted 6.5-meter Multiple Mirror Telescope; by an optical telescope at
the Oak Ridge Observatory in Massachusetts; by the Submillimeter Array in
Hawaii; by a small submillimeter telescope at the South Pole; and by a small
millimeter-wave telescope in Massachusetts. Headquartered in Cambridge,
Massachusetts, SAO is a member of the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for
Astrophysics, along with the Harvard College Observatory.
To achieve the goal of Increased Public Engagement, SAO will strengthen
mechanisms to disseminate the results of its research to professional and lay
audiences, and continue to conduct outstanding national programs of science
education. SAO will address the goal of Strengthened Scientific Research by
maintaining its leadership position in astrophysics through the high level of
productivity of its permanent scientific staff and by promoting collaborations with
visiting scientists and academic research institutions. The goal of Enhanced
Management Excellence will be achieved by improving information technology
(IT) infrastructure, ensuring administrative efficiency and staff commitment,
promoting scientific collaboration and innovation, and maintaining a diverse
workforce and culture of equal opportunity in all aspects of SAO’s employment
and business relationships.
For FY 2006, the estimate includes an increase of $994,000 and no
additional FTEs. Included are increases of $352,000 for necessary pay for
existing staff and $642,000 for increased rent, both of which are justified in the
Mandatory Costs section of this budget submission.
MEANS AND STRATEGY
To achieve the goal of Increased Public Engagement, SAO is directing its
resources to the production and delivery of educational services and products
that are informed by SAO research about learning and that meet the educational
needs of SAO’s audiences. This sustained outreach effort gives SAO increased
public coverage and recognition.
To meet the goal of Strengthened Scientific Research, SAO scientists
make extensive use of various astronomical facilities to support their research,
including the ground-based optical and radio telescopes owned and operated by
SAO located in Arizona and Hawaii, and space-based telescopes operated by
SAO on behalf of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).
These strategies enable SAO scientists to make substantial progress in
answering fundamental questions about the origin and nature of the universe and
questions about the formation/evolution of Earth and similar planets—two of the
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four science themes on which the Science Commission recommended the
Smithsonian concentrate.
SAO scientists will continue to take a leadership role in these scientific
areas by participating in or hosting national and international conferences (e.g.,
the American Astronomical Society, the International Astronomical Union, the
Astronomical Data Analysis Software & Systems conference series) and by
participating as keynote and/or invited speakers at such meetings. SAO
scientists will also continue to publish in leading peer-reviewed journals such as
the Astrophysical Journal, the Astronomical Journal, and Astronomy &
Astrophysics.
The goal of Enhanced Management Excellence will be addressed by
making IT infrastructure robust, reliable, and secure; maintaining a cooperative
environment through communication and activities that underscore SAO’s special
mission and each staff member’s contribution to its success; evaluating
management officials and supervisors on their compliance with applicable equal
opportunity laws, rules, and regulations and on their efforts to achieve a diverse
workforce; and promoting and facilitating the use of small, minority, womenowned, and other underutilized businesses in SAO’s procurement and business
relationships. These management tools support and enhance SAO’s scientific
and educational mission. SAO will also improve its management by emplacing a
Deputy Director for Administration trust employee who will centralize the
oversight of the administrative and support departments.
STRATEGIC GOALS AND FY 2006 ANNUAL PERFORMANCE GOALS
Increased Public Engagement
Expand a national outreach effort (5 FTEs and $801,000)
 Make up to 20 educational presentations at national, state, and local
meetings and conferences
 Carry out teacher professional development in conjunction with the
Annenberg Channel to reach: at least 1,000 channel licensees, including
Public Broadcasting Service stations, cable access stations, schools,
and universities; at least 80,000 schools; and at least 48,000 website
hits to the channel workshops page per month
 Present five workshops or papers at educational research or
practitioner conferences
 Support and evaluate the performance of the exhibition Cosmic
Questions: Our Place in Space and Time as it travels through various
museums across the country
 Carry out MicroObservatory operations, a telescope network, to reach
100 participating schools and take 20,000 images
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Strengthened Scientific Research
Conduct focused scientific research programs that are recognized
nationally and internationally (115 FTEs and $20,834,000)
Theme: Origin and Evolution of the Universe
 Maintain a high number (300) of publications in scholarly books and
peer-reviewed journals
 Maintain the number (200) of presentations at professional meetings
 Provide databases and archives to scientific and public users
 Seek three nonappropriated dollars for every federal dollar spent to
conduct research
 Continue to use the Chandra X-ray observatory to study energetic
sources, such as black holes, and hot gases in the universe
 Use the Multiple Mirror Telescope (MMT) to determine the large- scale
structure of the universe
 Use the Submillimeter Array (SMA) and instruments on the MMT to
probe regions of star and planet formation such as giant molecular
clouds and very young galaxies
 Develop the scientific program for the Very Energetic Radiation
Imaging Telescope Array System
 Continue cutting-edge theoretical work on star and planet formation, on
the early universe, on black holes and other regions of powerful
gravitational fields, on planetary atmospheres, and on other related
fields
 Continue the search for planets around stars, using SAO’s arsenal of
small telescopes via the transit method, radial velocity surveys, and
interferometry
Enhanced Management Excellence
Modernize the Institution's information technology (IT) systems and
infrastructure (1 FTE and $313,000)
 Actively participate in the implementation of the Enterprise Resource
Planning (ERP) system
Ensure that the Smithsonian’s workforce is efficient, collaborative,
committed, and innovative (1 FTE and $165,000)
 Continue to inform staff about SAO research discoveries and progress,
scientific prizes and awards, Smithsonian directives, and internal
policies and procedures through quarterly town meetings and SAOwide electronic messages as necessary
 Encourage innovation by annually securing financial resources for
internal research and development, and allocating these resources
through a competitive, peer-reviewed process
Recruit, hire, and maintain a diverse workforce and promote equal
opportunity (2 FTEs and $182,000)
 Increase candidate pools in order to recruit qualified minorities at 15
percent of total hires and qualified individuals with disabilities at 1
percent
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

Continue to actively recruit qualified women
Continue to provide maximum practicable opportunities in SAO
purchases to small or disadvantaged businesses, veteran-owned,
small or service-disabled veteran-owned businesses, HUBZone small
businesses, and women-owned small businesses
FY 2006 REQUEST—EXPLANATION OF CHANGE
The FY 2006 budget estimate includes an increase of $994,000. Included
are an increase of $352,000 for necessary pay for existing staff and an increase
of $642,000 for increased rent, both of which are justified in the Mandatory Costs
section of this budget submission.
NONAPPROPRIATED RESOURCES — SAO’s unrestricted general trust funds
come primarily from overhead charged on grants and contracts. SAO uses these
funds to support administrative functions approved in the Indirect Cost Budget
submitted to the Defense Contract Audit Agency and the Office of Naval
Research as required by OMB Circular A-122 (Cost Principles for Nonprofit
Organizations). SAO’s donor/sponsor designated funds come primarily from
restricted gifts from individuals, foundations, and corporations, which are
earmarked for particular purposes; restricted endowment funds; and nongovernmental grants and contracts. SAO’s government grants and contracts
receive the majority of their funds from government agencies for research in
areas of SAO's expertise. SAO often conducts this research in cooperation with
both governmental and academic institutions in the United States and abroad.
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