The Sunrise Mission

The first science flight of the balloon-borne \Sunrise telescope took place in June 2009 from ESRANGE (near Kiruna/Sweden) to Somerset Island in northern Canada. We describe the scientific aims and mission concept of the project and give an overview and a description of the various hardware components: the 1-m main telescope with its postfocus science instruments (the UV filter imager SuFI and the imaging vector magnetograph IMaX) and support instruments (image stabilizing and light distribution system ISLiD and correlating wavefront sensor CWS), the optomechanical support structure and the instrument mounting concept, the gondola structure and the power, pointing, and telemetry systems, and the general electronics architecture. We also explain the optimization of the structural and thermal design of the complete payload. The preparations for the science flight are described, including AIV and ground calibration of the instruments. The course of events during the science flight is outlined, up to the recovery activities. Finally, the in-flight performance of the instrumentation is briefly summarized.Comment: 35 pages, 17 figure

Systems of in situ diagnostics of plasma-surface interaction in MEPHIST-1 tokamak

In the Institute for Laser and Plasma Technologies of NRNU MEPhI a compact spherical tokamak MEPhIST (MEPhI-Spherical Tokamak) for educational, demonstration and research purposes is under development and construction. The creation of plasma diagnostics systems involves several stages, determined by the successive complication of the plasma researchtasks, the upgrading of the device and the development of educational and methodological material for laboratory work to be put at the tokamak. Working out in situ methods of plasma-surface interaction analysis is one of the main scientific and technological goals of this tokamak. The complex of diagnostics described in the paper provides complementary information about the processes occurring at plasma with surface contact, is a set of very informative and well-tested diagnostic tools that allow students to obtain visual and reliable information about the processes occurring in the discharge chamber of the tokamak.</jats:p