Cryogenic Infrared Radiance Instrumentation for Shuttle (CIRRIS 1A) Instrumentation and Flight Performance

The Cryogenic Infrared Radiance Instrumentation for Shuttle (C1IRRIS 1A) instrument, launched on the shuttle Discovery (STS-39) on 28 April 1991, was developed to characterize the phenomenology and dynamics of ionospheric processes. The primary objective of the CIRRIS 1A mission was to obtain spectral and spatial measurements of infrared atmospheric emissions in the spectral region between 2.5 and 25 jm over altitudes ranging from the Earth\u27s surface to 260 km. The primary sensors are a Michelson interferometer/spectrometer and a multi-spectral radiometer, which share a common high off-axis rejection telescope. The sensor/telescope complex is enclosed in a cryogenic dewar that is mounted in a dual-axis gimbal system. Excellent data were obtained from this mission, and preliminary analysis shows that all sensors performed well. This paper describes the experiment hardware, summarizes instrument performance during flight, and presents examples of significant results

Russian American Observation Satellites (RAMOS)

The Russian American Observation Satellites (RAMOS) experiment is a joint Russian- American space research program using two satellites for simultaneous stereo-optical imaging to address common concerns in the areas of environmental monitoring and defense. RAMOS will consist of a two-satellite constellation and associated ground support stations operated by the respective countries. The American Observational Satellite (AOS) will carry imaging instrumentation operating in both the visible and infrared regions. The Russian Observational Satellite (ROS) will carry analogous Russian sensors. Both satellites will be launched into a high-inclination circular orbit at an altitude of approximately 525 km. One satellite will have station-keeping capabilities to maintain a desired and variable separation. The AOS will consist of a Commercial-Off-The-Shelf (COTS) spacecraft bus and three sensor subsystems: a multi-spectral IR radiometer, visible push-broom scanner and a visible CCD camera. The bus will provide the functions of command and data handling, telemetry, data storage, state of health, and power. The attitude control system will include a global positioning receiver, star trackers and an inertial reference unit. Mission Operations Centers at Logan, Utah and Moscow, Russia will provide planning, scheduling, command packet development, command transmission, verification of execution, State-of-Health monitoring and down-link data collection. The operations centers will report to and implement feedback from the Joint Science Team

Cryogenic Michelson Interferometer on the Space Shuttle

A helium-cooled interferometer was flown aboard shuttle ifight STS-39. This interferometer, along with its sister radiometer, set new benchmarks for the quantity and quality of data collected. The interferometer generated approximately 150,000 interferograms during the course of the ifight. Data was collected at tangent heights from the earth\u27s surface to celestial targets. The interferograms encoded spectral data from aurora, earth limb, and earth terminator scenes. The interfemmeter collected data at resolutions of 8, 4, and 1 wavenumbers over a spectral range of 2 to 25 micrometers. The interferometer\u27s optics, detectors and preamps, laser reference system, realignment system, and eight-position optical filter wheel are described as they performed on-orbit