Instrument Facts:
Imaging Interferometer, or FTS
Description:
Cryrogenic plane-mirror Michelson imaging interferometer.
Objective:
Demonstrate a cryogenic imaging interferometer with spatial sampling
systems optimized for two-dimensional imaging.
What
Makes It New Technology?
The
imaging interferometer with radiometric performance exceeds
Previously demonstrated imaging FTS systems.
High-Speed Signal Processing
Description:
A 14-bit analog-to-digital converter, ASIC implementation, radiation
hardened to 1 Mrad, low power.
Objective:
Demonstrate high-speed, ultra-low-power signal processing.
What
Makes It New Technology?
- ultra-low
power (20mW/MSPS)
- radiation
hardened
- capable
of 20 MSPS
Advanced Cryogenic Cooling
Description:
Large area focal plane array and advanced cryogenic cooling, with —
- long
wavelength detector - 128x128 infrared pixel array connected
to an ROIC that integrates the signal and reads it out.
- miniaturized
cryocoolers with dual cold head, low mass, low vibration. Two-stage
(55K and 140K) cooler.
Objective:
Demonstrate large area detector arrays and readouts and associated
miniaturized cryocoolers.
What
Makes It New Technology?
- improved
spectral response in the infrared pixel array
- the
mini-cyrocoolers greatly reduces mass over existing coolers
- very
compact control electronics package
Data
Compression
Description:
Reprogrammable signal processor consisting of a vector processor
and a feneral purpose digital signalprocessor (DSP) for scalar
math. Vector processor to perform Fast Fourier Transforms and
matrix/vector operations.
Objective:
Demonstrate a radiation-hardened vector processor for onboard
real-time signal processing and data compression.
What
Makes It New Technology?
- digital
signal processing functions use less hardware
- software
complexity is reduced
- less
volume, mass, and power
Autonomous
Pointing and Control
Description:
Autonomous pointing and control for geolocation and image stabilization.
Employs dual head star tracker and Active Pixel Sensor (APS) for
visible imaging. The star tracker is a dual-head, signal detector
tracker to provide attitude information for accurate pointing.
The APS is a 512x512 visible pixel array, single-chip imager.
Objective:
Demonstrate autonomous pointing and control systems for precise
image stablization and feature tracking.
What
Makes It New Technology?
- better
accuracy tracking with high update rate
- ultra-low
power
Low-Power
Radiation-Tolerant Microelectronics
Description:
RAD750 PowerPC as instrument controller. Single-board space computer
in a 3U CompactPCI form. Provides computing power for GIFTS. Stacked
memory array for buffering of measurement data. 1 gigabyte, high-speed,
dual-ported, error-corrected, temporary storage. CULPRit - downlink
formatter board for GIFTS. Radiation shielding - composite enclosure,
spray-on and brush-on coating for thermal and radiation protection,
"modable" shielding.
Objective:
Demonstrate radiation protection and ultra-low-power electronics.
What
Makes It New Technology?
- powerPC:
low power dissipation, latchup immune, high throughput
- stacked
memory array: low voltage, small size
- CULPRit:
ultra-low power CMOS device
- radiation
shielding is low mass and incorporated into the composite or
sprayed on
- ultra-low
power electronics
Lightweight
Structures and Optics
Description:
Silicon carbide mirrors and composite structures in telecope.
Objective:
Demonstrate lightweight optics and structures to minimize instrument
mass
What
Makes It New Technology?
- high
specific stiffness, excellent thermal stability, low CTE
Overview | A Joint Mission | The GIFTS Instrument | Instrument Technology Facts
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