Space telescopes - an international perspective

Current and future space astronomy missions are reviewed, with focus on the international efforts of the USA, Europe, Japan, and the USSR, to provide observatory-class telescopes for those missions. Attention is drawn to the following opportunities for Australian astronomers' participation where appropriate; (1) through Guest Investigator programs; (2) through the proposed establishment of an Australian Space Astronomy Data Centre to gain access to archival data from the Hubble Space Telescope and other missions; and (3) via the contribution of instrumentation or ground support services as already agreed upon for the Soviet Radioastron VLBI mission and the advanced all-sky X-ray Monitor for the Spectrum-X-Gamma. Under the USSR-Australia Space Research Agreement, the possibility has arisen for Australia to provide a ground station for the Infrared Space Observatory to be launched by ESA in 1993.