Data Archive Policy

All scientific data from NRAO telescopes are stored in an archive. The archive contains the raw data: GBT files in FITS binary table format, export files from the VLA, and FITS-IDI files from the VLBA, including correlated data from any non-VLBA telescopes that have been used in conjunction with the VLBA. These data are reserved for the exclusive use of the observing team for a fixed period after the last observing session of a project has been completed. For proposals considered at the October 1, 2003 deadline or later, this proprietary period is 12 months following the last observation. For proposals considered at the June 1, 2003 deadline or earlier, the proprietary period is 18 months following the last observation.

In certain circumstances (e.g. multi-epoch monitoring projects or projects that require several VLA configurations) the default proprietary period may be lengthened by the NRAO Proposal Selection Committees. Requests for modification of the proprietary period must be made by filling out this Web form and forwarding it to the relevant site director. Data that has already become public cannot be made proprietary under any circumstances.

Some Rapid Response Science proposals, in particular "Exploratory Time" and "Target of Opportunity", have shorter proprietary periods. See the Rapid Response Science web page for more details. All data, taken as part of instrument calibration, engineering or software testing are immediately public with no proprietary period. Calibrator data which are taken as part of a proprietary project can be requested by first filling out Web form.

Page charge support of archival data analysis will be considered on a case-by-case basis. See the page charge guidelines web page, click here. Any published papers that use data from the NRAO Archive should carry the following footnote in the text: "The National Radio Astronomy Observatory is a facility of the National Science Foundation operated under cooperative agreement by Associated Universities, Inc."

Please note: VLBA observations carried out as part of the VSOP mission, identifiable by project codes beginning with V or W, are not available directly from the VLBA archive. Requests for archival VSOP observations should be directed to the VSOP, Science Operations Group, c/o: pge@vsop.isas.jaxa.jp.

The National Radio Astronomy Observatory is a facility of the National Science Foundation operated under cooperative agreement by Associated Universities, Inc.