Westford, MA

MIT Haystack Observatory

About

The Haystack mission is to develop technology for radio science applications, and thereby to study the structure of our galaxy and the larger universe, to advance scientific knowledge of our planet and its space environment, and to contribute to the education of future scientists and engineers.

Haystack Observatory is a multidisciplinary research laboratory with a unifying theme of radio science and a research staff of many highly skilled scientists, engineers, and technicians. Even as the emphasis in radio sciences has evolved toward large national and international facilities, Haystack remains a world-class center of excellence in radio science and technology, with a long history of scientific and technical leadership and accomplishment. Our main fields of research include astronomy, geodesy, geospace science, and space technology.

This July, SpectrumX, the U.S. National Science Foundation Spectrum Innovation Center, organized and conducted a large-scale field experiment at the NSF National Radio Astronomy Observatory (NSF NRAO) Very Large Array […]

At SpectrumX, the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) Spectrum Innovation Center, research partners and students have been hard at work developing a Mobile Experiment Platform (MEP) that aims to support RF field experiments.
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) has announced that Philip Erickson was named the director of the MIT Haystack Observatory, effective January 1, 2024. Erickson has served as the Observatory’s associate director and geospace lead scientist since 2020. Erickson is a founding member and research partner of the National Science Foundation’s (NSF) SpectrumX, an NSF Spectrum Innovation Center. Erickson participated in Project Teams (PT) for Sensing and Data, as well as Working Groups (WG) in Policy and Economic Policy Research.