NASA G-133 "GoldHelox": A Project Update

: NASA G-133, also known as the "GoldHelox Project", is a fully autonomous, soft X-ray, solar telescope designed for use on board the space shuttle. Conceived, designed and built by students at Brigham Young University, it will image the sun with a spatial resolution of 2.5 arc-seconds with a temporal resolution of one second. The instrument will image X-rays with wavelengths between 171A and 181A coming from highly ionized Fe lines in the sun's corona. Data will consist of several hundred high resolution photographs that will help in understanding the initial phases of solar flares, and the relationship between solar flares and the physics of the coronal-chromospheric transition region. This paper briefly outlines the project's goals, gives a brief overview of the construction and operation of the instrument and addresses the unique aspects of running a predominantly undergraduate research project. It summarizes the lessons learned to date, and the current project status.