<s>
The	O
US	O
National	O
Virtual	O
Observatory-NVO	O
-	O
(	O
nowadays	O
VAO	O
-	O
Virtual	O
Astronomical	O
Observatory	O
)	O
was	O
conceived	O
to	O
allow	O
scientists	O
to	O
access	O
data	O
from	O
multiple	O
astronomical	O
observatories	O
,	O
including	O
ground	O
and	O
space-based	O
facilities	O
,	O
through	O
a	O
single	O
portal	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Originally	O
,	O
the	O
National	O
Science	O
Foundation	O
(	O
NSF	O
)	O
funded	O
the	O
information	O
technology	O
research	O
that	O
created	O
the	O
basic	O
NVO	B-Application
infrastructure	O
through	O
a	O
multi-organization	O
collaborative	O
effort	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
NVO	B-Application
was	O
more	O
than	O
a	O
“	O
digital	O
library	O
”	O
;	O
it	O
was	O
a	O
vibrant	O
,	O
growing	O
online	O
research	O
facility	O
akin	O
to	O
a	O
bricks-and-mortar	O
observatory	O
for	O
professional	O
astronomers.As	O
of	O
October	O
1	O
,	O
2014	O
,	O
funding	O
ceased	O
for	O
the	O
National	B-Application
Virtual	I-Application
Observatory	I-Application
(	O
NVO	B-Application
)	O
'	O
and	O
all	O
code	O
and	O
digital	O
assets	O
of	O
the	O
project	O
were	O
made	O
publicly	O
available	O
at	O
the	O
VAO	O
Closeout	O
Repository	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
NVO	B-Application
was	O
conceived	O
to	O
allow	O
scientists	O
to	O
grapple	O
with	O
the	O
enormous	O
growth	O
in	O
astronomical	O
data	O
resulting	O
from	O
significant	O
advances	O
in	O
telescope	O
,	O
detector	O
,	O
and	O
computer	O
technologies	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
August	O
2001	O
,	O
the	O
NSF	O
allocated	O
funding	O
for	O
a	O
proposal	O
entitled	O
"	O
Framework	O
for	O
the	O
National	B-Application
Virtual	I-Application
Observatory	I-Application
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
NVO	B-Application
funding	O
supported	O
collaboration	O
to	O
produce	O
a	O
distributed	O
computing	O
framework	O
for	O
an	O
integrated	O
cyber	O
infrastructure	O
for	O
astronomers	O
providing	O
seamless	O
access	O
to	O
these	O
astronomical	O
resources	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
manifestation	O
of	O
this	O
infrastructure	O
was	O
an	O
operational	O
“	O
virtual	B-Application
observatory	I-Application
”	O
available	O
to	O
scientists	O
and	O
to	O
the	O
public	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
NVO	B-Application
was	O
planned	O
and	O
implemented	O
in	O
synergy	O
with	O
the	O
research	O
community	O
,	O
the	O
primary	O
users	O
of	O
the	O
system	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
2007	O
,	O
the	O
operational	O
stage	O
of	O
the	O
NVO	B-Application
began	O
with	O
combined	O
funding	O
from	O
NSF	O
and	O
NASA	O
and	O
programmatically	O
executed	O
through	O
NSF	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Scientists	O
originally	O
accessed	O
the	O
NVO	B-Application
through	O
the	O
NVO	B-Application
website	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Data	O
in	O
the	O
NVO	B-Application
Closeout	O
Repository	O
are	O
available	O
from	O
a	O
variety	O
of	O
observatories	O
and	O
wavelengths	O
,	O
including	O
NSF	O
's	O
National	O
Optical	O
Astronomy	O
Observatory	O
(	O
NOAO	O
)	O
,	O
National	O
Radio	O
Astronomy	O
Observatory	O
(	O
NRAO	O
)	O
,	O
the	O
Sloan	O
Digital	O
Sky	O
Survey	O
(	O
SDSS	O
)	O
,	O
and	O
the	O
2	O
Micron	O
All	O
Sky	O
Survey	O
(	O
2MASS	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Also	O
found	O
in	O
the	O
NVO	B-Application
are	O
NASA	O
's	O
rich	O
data	O
collections	O
including	O
data	O
from	O
the	O
Hubble	O
Space	O
Telescope	O
,	O
the	O
Chandra	O
X-ray	O
Observatory	O
,	O
the	O
Spitzer	O
Space	O
Telescope	O
,	O
and	O
other	O
space-based	O
missions	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
NVO	B-Application
Closeout	O
Repository	O
provides	O
access	O
to	O
a	O
variety	O
of	O
additional	O
data	O
from	O
nearly	O
every	O
astronomical	O
research	O
facility	O
,	O
observatory	O
,	O
and	O
telescope	O
across	O
the	O
globe	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
NVO	B-Application
development	O
project	O
was	O
distributed	O
across	O
many	O
institutions	O
and	O
includes	O
teams	O
at	O
the	O
Johns	O
Hopkins	O
University	O
,	O
California	O
Institute	O
of	O
Technology	O
,	O
Space	O
Telescope	O
Science	O
Institute	O
,	O
NOAO	O
,	O
Infrared	O
Processing	O
and	O
Analysis	O
Center	O
,	O
San	O
Diego	O
Supercomputer	O
Center	O
,	O
and	O
the	O
Associated	O
Universities	O
,	O
Inc	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Affiliate	O
organizations	O
with	O
participating	O
teams	O
include	O
Goddard	O
Space	O
Flight	O
Center	O
,	O
Carnegie	O
Mellon	O
University	O
,	O
University	O
of	O
Pittsburgh	O
,	O
National	B-General_Concept
Center	I-General_Concept
for	I-General_Concept
Supercomputing	I-General_Concept
Applications	I-General_Concept
,	O
Smithsonian	O
Astrophysical	O
Observatory	O
,	O
University	O
of	O
Southern	O
California	O
,	O
Fermilab	O
,	O
United	O
States	O
Naval	O
Observatory	O
,	O
the	O
University	O
of	O
Wisconsin	O
–	O
Madison	O
,	O
and	O
National	O
Radio	O
Astronomy	O
Observatory	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
NVO	B-Application
,	O
a	O
US	O
effort	O
,	O
had	O
affiliates	O
throughout	O
the	O
international	O
astronomical	O
community	O
including	O
IVOA	O
,	O
AstroGrid	B-Operating_System
(	O
UK	O
)	O
,	O
Euro-VO	B-Application
,	O
the	O
Japanese	O
VO	O
,	O
the	O
Australian	O
VO	O
,	O
VO	O
India	O
and	O
ten	O
other	O
national	O
programs	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Along	O
with	O
its	O
objective	O
to	O
serve	O
the	O
scientific	O
community	O
by	O
enabling	O
research	O
through	O
distributed	O
data	O
sources	O
and	O
services	O
,	O
the	O
NVO	B-Application
served	O
the	O
public	O
through	O
educational	O
and	O
outreach	O
resources	O
on	O
the	O
Virtual	B-Application
Observatory	I-Application
website	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
modest	O
NVO	B-Application
Education	O
and	O
Public	O
Outreach	O
(	O
EPO	O
)	O
effort	O
was	O
coordinated	O
from	O
Space	O
Telescope	O
Science	O
Institute	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
NVO	B-Application
provided	O
technical	O
support	O
for	O
the	O
development	O
of	O
educational	O
modules	O
integrated	O
into	O
partner	O
programs	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
NVO	B-Application
EPO	O
coordinated	O
activities	O
with	O
the	O
international	O
communities	O
as	O
well	O
.	O
</s>
