INSPIRE-SAT7: Pre-Flight radiometric validation and calibration of a miniaturized Earth's Radiative Budget satellite

International audienceINSPIRE-SAT 7 is a French 2-Unit CubeSat primarily designed for Earth and Sun observations. This mission is part of the International Satellite Program in Research and Education (INSPIRE). This satellite will be deployed in Low Earth Orbit (LEO) in 2023 as the first step of the so-called ‘Terra-F’ constellation that will provide spatio-temporal resolution for Earth Energy Imbalance (EEI) measurements.This new scientific and technological pathfinder CubeSat mission (INSPIRE-SAT 7) is equipped with various channels on all sides. Among them: the Total Solar Irradiance Sensor (TSIS) payload, the Ultra-Violet Sensor (UVS) using a new generation of solar blind detectors designed to monitor the integrated Solar Spectral Irradiance (SSI) in the Hertzberg continuum, and the Earth Radiative Sensor (ERS) payload, designed to measure some Earth’s Radiative budget (ERB) components such as the outgoing short and long wave radiation at the top-of-the atmosphere for climate change studies.The Belgian Radiometry Characterization Laboratory (B.RCLab) of the Royal Belgian Institute for Space Aeronomy (BIRA-IASB) is the partner responsible for the pre-flight absolute calibration and radiometric characterization of INSPIRE-SAT7 TSIS and UVS payloads.In this work we will first describe the INSPIRE-SAT7 concept, design, scientific and operational objectives. We will then present B.RCLab facilities along with its radiometric characterization benches, including the absolute calibration capabilities and its traceability. Finally, the main results of the INSPIRE-SAT7 pre-flight calibration campaign, which took place in November 2022, will be presented. These results allowed to calculate the sensors on-orbit calibration coefficients that are crucial to perform traceable absolute EEI measurements. A radiometric comprehensive uncertainty budget will be presented along the sensors’ calibration coefficients

MAJIS VIS-NIR channel: performances of the spare model focal plane unit

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Facility for the radiometric characterization of space-based visible-near infrared detectors

When developing new astronomical instruments, there is a need to perform the char- acterization of their individual components, especially the detectors, to ensure that their performances comply with the scientific objectives of the instrument. A visible- near infrared (VIS-NIR) facility was developed for the absolute and relative radio- metric characterization of space-based detectors at the Royal Belgian Institute for Space Aeronomy (BIRA-IASB). The facility operates from 0.4 to 2.65 μm in an ISO-5 environment. It offers a tunable monochromatic flux with a high level of straylight rejection (10−8) and 2% uniformity, over a four-decade range of intensity with adjust- able bandwidth. Latency measurements are also possible. Thermalization is offered within a precision of 7 mK between 50 K and 382 K. The ultimate vacuum level of the detector chamber is below 10−6 mbar. A robust security system avoids both reach- ing temperatures outside the operational range of the detector and its electronics, and contamination due to vacuum loss. The facility was already used to characterize the VIS-NIR detectors of the Moons And Jupiter Imaging Spectrometer (MAJIS), one of the instruments on board the Jupiter ICy Moons Explorer (JUICE). The versatility provided by the VIS-NIR facility allows its use for the characterization of other astro- nomical detecto

The thermal-vacuum and security system of the characterization facility for MAJIS/JUICE VIS-NIR FM and SM detectors

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Characterization facility for the MAJIS/JUICE VIS-NIR FM and SM detectors

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MAJIS/JUICE VIS-NIR FM and SM detectors characterization

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MAJIS VIS-NIR channel: performances of the focal plane unit - flight model

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