Douglas P. Adler

The Geosynchronous Imaging Fourier Transform Spectrometer (GIFTS) On-board Blackbody Calibration System

The NASA New Millennium Programs Geosynchronous Imaging Fourier Transform Spectrometer (GIFTS) instrument provides enormous advances in water vapor, wind, temperature, and trace gas profiling from geostationary orbit. The top-level instrument calibration requirement is to measure brightness temperature to better than 1 K (3 sigma) over a broad range of atmospheric brightness temperatures, with a reproducibility of ±0.2 K. For in-flight radiometric calibration, GIFTS uses views of two on-board blackbody sources (290 K and 255 K) along with cold space, sequenced at regular programmable intervals. The blackbody references are cavities that follow the UW Atmospheric Emitted Radiance Interferometer (AERI) design, scaled to the GIFTS beam size. The cavity spectral emissivity is better than 0.998 with an absolute uncertainty of less than 0.001. Absolute blackbody temperature uncertainties are estimated at 0.07 K. This paper describes the detailed design of the GIFTS on-board calibration system that recently underwent its Critical Design Review. The blackbody cavities use ultra-stable thermistors to measure temperature, and are coated with high emissivity black paint. Monte Carlo modeling has been performed to calculate the cavity emissivity. Both absolute temperature and emissivity measurements are traceable to NIST, and detailed uncertainty budgets have been developed and used to show the overall system meets accuracy requirements. The blackbody controller is housed on a single electronics board and provides precise selectable set point temperature control, thermistor resistance measurement, and the digital interface to the GIFTS instrument. Plans for the NIST traceable ground calibration of the on-board blackbody system have also been developed and are presented in this paper.

On-orbit Absolute Calibration of Temperature with Application to the CLARREO Mission

NASAs anticipated plan for a mission dedicated to climate (CLARREO) will hinge upon the ability to fly absolute standards that can provide the basis to meet stringent requirements on measurement accuracy For example, instrumentation designed to measure spectrally resolved infrared radiances will require high-emissivity calibration blackbodies having absolute temperature uncertainties of better than 0.045 K (3 sigma). A novel scheme to provide absolute calibration of temperature sensors, suitable for CLARREO on-orbit operation, has been demonstrated in the laboratory at the University of Wisconsin. The scheme uses the transient temperature signature obtained during the phase change of different reference materials, imbedded in the same thermally conductive medium as the temperature sensors - in this case the aluminum blackbody cavity. Three or more reference materials can be used to assign an absolute scale to the thermistor sensors over a large temperature range. Using very small quantities of phase change material (<1/250th the mass of the cavity), melt temperature accuracies of better than 10 mK have been demonstrated for Hg, H2O, and Ga, providing calibration from 233K to 303K. The flight implementation of this new scheme will involve special considerations for packaging the phase change materials to ensure long-term compatibility with the containment system, and design features that help ensure that the on-orbit melt behavior in a microgravity environment is unchanged from pre-flight full gravitational conditions under which the system is characterized.

On-Orbit Absolute Radiance Standard for the Next Generation of IR Remote Sensing Instruments

The next generation of infrared remote sensing satellite instrumentation, including climate benchmark missions will require better absolute measurement accuracy than now available, and will most certainly rely on the emerging capability to fly SI traceable standards that provide irrefutable absolute measurement accuracy. As an example, instrumentation designed to measure spectrally resolved infrared radiances with an absolute brightness temperature error of better than 0.1 K will require high-emissivity (<0.999) calibration blackbodies with emissivity uncertainty of better than 0.06%, and absolute temperature uncertainties of better than 0.045K (k=3). Key elements of an On-Orbit Absolute Radiance Standard (OARS) meeting these stringent requirements have been demonstrated in the laboratory at the University of Wisconsin (UW) and refined under the NASA Instrument Incubator Program (IIP). This work recently culminated with an integrated subsystem that was used in the laboratory to demonstrate end-to-end radiometric accuracy verification for the UW Absolute Radiance Interferometer. Along with an overview of the design, we present details of a key underlying technology of the OARS that provides on-orbit absolute temperature calibration using the transient melt signatures of small quantities (<1g) of reference materials (gallium, water, and mercury) imbedded in the blackbody cavity. In addition we present performance data from the laboratory testing of the OARS.

Performance verification of the Geosynchronous Imaging Fourier Transform Spectrometer (GIFTS) on-board blackbody calibration system

The NASA New Millennium Programs Geosynchronous Imaging Fourier Transform Spectrometer (GIFTS) instrument was designed to provide enormous advances in water vapor, wind, temperature, and trace gas profiling from geostationary orbit. The top-level instrument calibration requirement is to measure brightness temperature to better than 1 K (3 sigma) over a broad range of atmospheric brightness temperatures, with a reproducibility of ±0.2 K. For the onboard calibration approach used by GIFTS that employs two internal blackbody sources (290 K and 255 K) plus a space view sequenced at regular programmable intervals, this instrument level requirement places tight requirements on the blackbody temperature uncertainty (0.1 K) and emissivity uncertainty (0.001). The blackbody references are cavities that follow the UW Atmospheric Emitted Radiance Interferometer (AERI) design, scaled to the GIFTS beam size. The engineering model blackbody system was completed and fully calibrated at the University of Wisconsin and delivered for integration into the GIFTS Engineering Development Unit (EDU) at the Utah State Space Dynamics Laboratory. This paper presents a detailed description of the methodology used to establish the required temperature and emissivity performance, with emphasis on the traceability to NIST standards. In addition, blackbody temperature data are presented from the GIFTS EDU thermal vacuum tests that indicate excellent temperature stability. The delivered on-board blackbody calibration system exceeds performance goals - the cavity spectral emissivity is better than 0.998 with an absolute uncertainty of less than 0.001, and the absolute blackbody temperature uncertainty is better than 0.06 K.

Project status of the Robert Stobie spectrograph near infrared instrument (RSS-NIR) for SALT

The Robert Stobie Spectrograph Near Infrared Instrument (RSS-NIR), a prime focus facility instrument for the 11-meter Southern African Large Telescope (SALT), is well into its laboratory integration and testing phase. RSS-NIR will initially provide imaging and single or multi-object medium resolution spectroscopy in an 8 arcmin field of view at wavelengths of 0.9 - 1.7 μm. Future modes, including tunable Fabry-Perot spectral imaging and polarimetry, have been designed in and can be easily added later. RSS-NIR will mate to the existing visible wavelength RSS-VIS via a dichroic beamsplitter, allowing simultaneous operation of the two instruments in all modes. Multi-object spectroscopy covering a wavelength range of 0.32 - 1.7 μm on 10-meter class telescopes is a rare capability and once all the existing VIS modes are incorporated into the NIR, the combined RSS will provide observational modes that are completely unique. The VIS and NIR instruments share a common telescope focal plane, and slit mask for spectroscopic modes, and collimator optics that operate at ambient observatory temperature. Beyond the dichroic beamsplitter, RSS-NIR is enclosed in a pre-dewar box operating at -40 °C, and within that is a cryogenic dewar operating at 120 K housing the detector and final camera optics and filters. This semi-warm configuration with compartments at multiple operating temperatures poses a number of design and implementation challenges. In this paper we present overviews of the RSSNIR instrument design and solutions to design challenges, measured performance of optical components, detector system optimization results, and an update on the overall project status.

On-orbit absolute temperature calibration using multiple phase change materials: overview of recent technology advancements

NASAs anticipated plan for a mission dedicated to Climate (CLARREO) will hinge upon the ability to fly SI traceable standards that provide irrefutable absolute measurement accuracy. As an example, instrumentation designed to measure spectrally resolved infrared radiances will require high-emissivity calibration blackbodies that have absolute temperature uncertainties of better than 0.045K (3 sigma). A novel scheme to provide absolute calibration of temperature sensors onorbit, that uses the transient melt signatures from multiple phase change materials, has been demonstrated in the laboratory at the University of Wisconsin and is now undergoing technology advancement under NASA Instrument Incubator Program funding. Using small quantities of phase change material (less than half of a percent of the mass of the cavity), melt temperature accuracies of better than 10 mK have been demonstrated for mercury, water, and gallium (providing calibration from 233K to 303K). Refinements currently underway focus on ensuring that the melt materials in their sealed confinement housings perform as expected in the thermal and microgravity environment of a multi-year spaceflight mission. Thermal soak and cycling tests are underway to demonstrate that there is no dissolution from the housings into the melt materials that could alter melt temperature, and that there is no liquid metal embrittlement of the housings from the metal melt materials. In addition, NASA funding has been recently secured to conduct a demonstration of this scheme in the microgravity environment of the International Space Station.

Mechanical design of the near-infrared arm of the Robert Stobie Spectrograph for SALT

The Robert Stobie Spectrograph Near Infrared (RSS/NIR) upgrade for the Southern African Large Telescope (SALT) extends the capabilities of the visible arm of RSS into the NIR. The RSS/NIR instrument is at the prime focus of SALT. It is a versatile spectrograph with broadband imaging, spectropolarimetric, and Fabry-Perot imaging capabilities. The multiple modes and prime focus location introduce interesting engineering considerations. The spectrograph has an ambient temperature collimator, cooled (-40ºC) dispersers and camera and a cryogenic detector. Many of the mechanisms are required to operate within the cooled and cryogenic environments. The RSS/ NIR upgrade includes the following mechanisms; an active flexure compensating fold mirror, a filter exchange mechanism, a Volume Phase Holographic VPH grating exchange and rotation mechanism, an etalon inserter, a beam splitter inserter, an articulating camera, internal camera focus and a cutoff filter exchange wheel. This paper gives an overview of the mechanical design and focuses on some of the unique testing and prototyping tasks.

On-orbit absolute blackbody emissivity determination using the heated halo method

The Climate Absolute Radiance and Refractivity Observatory is a satellite mission that will measure the Earths outgoing spectral radiance with accuracy better than 0.1 K in radiance temperature for climate benchmarking and forecast testing. Part of the high-accuracy calibration system is the heated halo, which provides a robust and compact method to measure the spectral emissivity of a blackbody. Measurement of the combined radiance of a blackbody, the reflection from a thermal source, and knowledge of key temperatures and the viewing geometry allow the blackbody spectral emissivity to be calculated. This allows the determination of blackbody radiance, and thus calibration of the CLARREO instrument, with high accuracy.

The heated halo for space-based blackbody emissivity measurement

Reliable calibration of high-accuracy spaceborne infrared spectrometers requires knowledge of both blackbody temperature and emissivity on-orbit, as well as their uncertainties. The Heated Halo is a broadband thermal source that provides a robust and compact method to measure emissivity. We present the results from the Heated Halo methodology implemented with a new Absolute Radiance Interferometer (ARI), which is a prototype space-based infrared spectrometer designed for climate benchmarking. We show the evolution of the technical readiness level of this technology and we compare our findings to models and other experimental methods of emissivity determination.

On-orbit Absolute Blackbody Emissivity Determination Using the Heated Halo Method

The Heated Halo method can be used to accurately measure the spectral emissivity of a blackbody, on-orbit, using a broadband thermal source.