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What's the IRTS !?-
The Infrared Telescope in Space (IRTS) is described by Murakami et al. 1994, Matsumoto 1996, Murakami et al. 1996; these publications can be found on the IRSA IRTS Bibliography listings. The IRTS is a cryogenically cooled small infrared telescope that will fly aboard the small space platform Space Flyer Unit. It will survey approximately 10% of the sky with a relatively wide beam during its 20 day mission. Four focal-plane instruments will make simultaneous observations of the sky at wavelengths ranging from 1 to 1000 microns. The IRTS will provide significant information on cosmology, interstellar matter, late-type stars, and interplanetary dust. This paper describes the instrumentation and mission.
- Characteristics of the IRTS
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Weight Total Weight : 183 kg Cryostat : 128 kg FPI+telescope : 9 kg Electronics : 16 kg Support structure : 18 kg Others : 12 kg Dimensions 93cm diameter (cryostat) x 135 cm (ncluding aperture shade) Power consumption 80 W maximum Cryostat Superfluid helium, 90 liters FPI temperature : 1.9 K Cold lifetime : > 35 days after launch Telescope 15 cm diameter F/4 Richey-Chretien type Effective collecting area : 113 cm2 FPIs Near-Infrared Spectrometer (NIRS) Mid-Infrared Spectrometer (MIRS) Far-Infrared Line Mapper (FILM) Far-Infrared Photometer (FIRP) Telemetry Data rate : 6 kbits/s (visible orbit), 3 kbits/s (invisible orbit) Observation 20 days, uniform sky survey Sky coverage Approximately 10% of the entire sky
- Photographs of the IRTS
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Cross Section of IRTS Telescope & FPI of the IRTS
(Provided by ISAS.)
- FPIs of the IRTS
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Four scientific instruments, the Near-Infrared Spectrometer (NIRS), the Mid-Infrared Spectrometer (MIRS), the Far-Infrared Line Mapper (FILM), and the Far-Infrared Photometer (FIRP) are installed in the focal plane of the telescope together with a near-IR sar sensor.
