NASA to use spy telescopes in dark-energy search

NASA is planning to use two former spy telescopes in its search for the mysterious dark energy, which makes up over 68 per cent of the universe.
The US space agency may request money in next year's budget to eventually start using the telescopes it received from the US' spy satellite agency, according to a senior official involved in the project.
The satellites given to NASA by the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) in 2012 could be used in a space mission named WFIRST-AFTA (the Wide Field Infrared Survey Telescope-Astrophysics Focused Telescope Assets).
The launch date is planned for as early as 2024, 'Space.Com' reported.

WFIRST-AFTA's science goals include learning more about the mysterious dark energy that is accelerating the expansion of the universe.
"We have a goal of using these telescopes as is, and we do not have to make modifications, but we do have to resurface the mirror, as it's been sitting in storage," Paul Hertz, NASA's astrophysics chief, said.

"But we are going to use them as is and design the spacecraft and the instruments to take advantage of their properties," Hertz said.
Should the programme move forward, one of the telescopes would be used for space observations, while the other would remain on the ground as an engineering test bed.

At some point, the engineering telescope could be freed for other uses - including, perhaps, a space mission, Hertz said.