Yoichi Sato

The High-Resolution X-ray Microcalorimeter Spectrometer System for the SXS on ASTRO-H

We present the science and an overview of the Soft X-ray Spectrometer onboard the ASTRO-H mission with emphasis on the detector system. The SXS consists of X-ray focusing mirrors and a microcalorimeter array and is developed by international collaboration lead by JAXA and NASA with European participation. The detector is a 6×6 format microcalorimeter array operated at a cryogenic temperature of 50 mK and covers a 3 ×3 field of view of the X-ray telescope of 5.6 m focal length. We expect an energy resolution better than 7 eV (FWHM, requirement) with a goal of 4 eV. The effective area of the instrument will be 225 cm2 at 7 keV; by a factor of about two larger than that of the X-ray microcalorimeter on board Suzaku. One of the main scientific objectives of the SXS is to investigate turbulent and/or macroscopic motions of hot gas in clusters of galaxies.

Soft x-ray spectrometer (SXS): The high-resolution cryogenic spectrometer onboard ASTRO-H

We present the development status of the Soft X-ray Spectrometer (SXS) onboard the ASTRO-H mission. The SXS provides the capability of high energy-resolution X-ray spectroscopy of a FWHM energy resolution of < 7eV in the energy range of 0.3 – 10 keV. It utilizes an X-ray micorcalorimeter array operated at 50 mK. The SXS microcalorimeter subsystem is being developed in an EM-FM approach. The EM SXS cryostat was developed and fully tested and, although the design was generally confirmed, several anomalies and problems were found. Among them is the interference of the detector with the micro-vibrations from the mechanical coolers, which is the most difficult one to solve. We have pursued three different countermeasures and two of them seem to be effective. So far we have obtained energy resolutions satisfying the requirement with the FM cryostat.

In-orbit operation of the ASTRO-H SXS

We summarize all the in-orbit operations of the Soft X-ray Spectrometer (SXS) onboard the ASTRO-H (Hit- omi) satellite. The satellite was launched on 2016/02/17 and the communication with the satellite ceased on 2016/03/26. The SXS was still in the commissioning phase, in which the setups were progressively changed. This article is intended to serve as a reference of the events in the orbit to properly interpret the SXS data taken during its short life time, and as a test case for planning the in-orbit operation for future micro-calorimeter missions.

Cooling system for the soft x-ray spectrometer (SXS) onboard ASTRO-H

The Soft X-ray Spectrometer (SXS) is a cryogenic high resolution X-ray spectrometer onboard the X-ray astronomy satellite ASTRO-H. The detector array is cooled down to 50 mK using a 3-stage adiabatic demagnetization refrigerator (ADR). The cooling chain from room temperature to the ADR heat-sink is composed of superfluid liquid He, a 4He Joule-Thomson cryocooler, and 2-stage Stirling cryocoolers. It is designed to keep 30 L of liquid He for more than 3 years in the nominal case. It is also designed with redundant subsystems throughout from room temperature to the ADR heat-sink, to alleviate failure of a single cryocooler or loss of liquid He.

Vibration isolation system for cryocoolers of Soft X-ray Spectrometer (SXS) onboard ASTRO-H (Hitomi)

Soft X-ray Spectrometer (SXS) onboard ASTRO-H (named Hitomi after launch) is a microcalorimeter-type spectrometer, installed in a dewar to be cooled at 50 mK. The energy resolution of the SXS engineering model suffered from micro-vibration from cryocoolers mounted on the dewar. This is mitigated for the flight model by introducing vibration isolation systems between the cryocoolers and the dewar. The detector performance of the flight model was verified before launch of the spacecraft in both ambient condition and thermal-vac condition, showing no detectable degradation in energy resolution. The in-orbit performance was also consistent with that on ground, indicating that the cryocoolers were not damaged by launch environment. The design and performance of the vibration isolation system along with the mechanism of how the micro-vibration could degrade the cryogenic detector is shown.

Cryogenic system for the infrared space telescope SPICA

The SPICA mission has been proposed to JAXA as the second Japanese IR space telescope to be launched in 2017. The SPICA spacecraft, launched with an H-IIA launch vehicle, is to be transferred into a halo orbit around the Sun-Earth L2, where effective radiant cooling is feasible owing to solar rays and radiant heat fluxes from the Earth constantly coming from the same direction. That optimal thermal environment enables this IR space telescope to use a large 3.5-mdiameter- single-aperture primary mirror cooled to 4.5 K with advanced mechanical cryocoolers and effective radiant cooling instead of a massive and short-lived cryogen. As a result of thermal and structural analyses, the thermal design of cryogenic system was obtained. Then, mechanical cryocoolers have been developed to meet cooling requirement at 1.7 K, 4.5 K and 20 K. The latest results of upgrading of the 20 K-class two-stage Stirling cooler, the 4K-class JT cooler, and the 1K-class JT cooler indicate that all cryocoolers gain a sufficient margin of cooling capacity with unprecedentedly low power consumption for the cooling requirement. It is concluded that the feasibility of the SPICA mission was confirmed for the critical cryogenic system design, while some attempts to achieve higher reliability, higher cooling capacity and less vibration have been continued for stable operations throughout the entire mission period.

Performance of the helium dewar and the cryocoolers of the Hitomi soft x-ray spectrometer

Abstract. The soft x-ray spectrometer (SXS) was a cryogenic high-resolution x-ray spectrometer onboard the Hitomi (ASTRO-H) satellite that achieved energy resolution of 5 eV at 6 keV, by operating the detector array at 50 mK using an adiabatic demagnetization refrigerator (ADR). The cooling chain from room temperature to the ADR heat sink was composed of two-stage Stirling cryocoolers, a He4 Joule–Thomson cryocooler, and superfluid liquid helium and was installed in a dewar. It was designed to achieve a helium lifetime of more than 3 years with a minimum of 30 L. The satellite was launched on February 17, 2016, and the SXS worked perfectly in orbit, until March 26 when the satellite lost its function. It was demonstrated that the heat load on the helium tank was about 0.7 mW, which would have satisfied the lifetime requirement. This paper describes the design, results of ground performance tests, prelaunch operations, and initial operation and performance in orbit of the flight dewar and the cryocoolers.

Mechanical cooler system for the next-generation infrared space telescope SPICA

The Space Infrared Telescope for Cosmology and Astrophysics (SPICA) is a pre-project of JAXA in collaboration with ESA to be launched in the 2020s. The SPICA mission is to be launched into a halo orbit around the second Lagrangian point in the Sun-Earth system, which allows us to use effective radiant cooling in combination with a mechanical cooling system in order to cool a 2.5m-class large IR telescope below 8K. Recently, a new system design in particular thermal structure of the payload module has been studied by considering the technical feasibility of a cryogenic cooled telescope within current constraints of the mission in the CDF (Concurrent Design Facility) study of ESA/ESTEC. Then, the thermal design of the mechanical cooler system, for which the Japanese side is responsible, has been examined based on the CDF study and the feasible solution giving a proper margin has been obtained. As a baseline, 4K / 1K-class Joule-Thomson coolers are used to cool the telescope and thermal interface for Focal Plane Instruments (FPIs). Additionally, two sets of double stirling coolers (2STs) are used to cool the Telescope shield. In this design, nominal operation of FPIs can be kept when one mechanical cooler is in failure.

Thermal Study of Payload Module for the Next-Generation Infrared Space Telescope SPICA in Risk Mitigation Phase

The Space Infrared Telescope for Cosmology and Astrophysics (SPICA) is a pre-project of JAXA in collaboration with ESA to be launched around 2025. The SPICA mission is to be launched into a halo orbit around the second Lagrangian point in the Sun-Earth system, which allows us to use effective radiant cooling in combination with a mechanical cooling system in order to cool a 3m large IR telescope below 6K. The use of 4K / 1K-class Joule-Thomson coolers is proposed in order to cool the telescope and provide a 4K / 1K temperature region for Focal Plane Instruments (FPIs). This paper introduces details of the thermal design study for the SPICA payload module in the Risk-Mitigation-Phase (RMP), in which the activity is focused on mitigating the mission’s highest risks. As the result of the RMP activity, most of all the goals have been fully satisfied and the thermal design of the payload module has been dramatically improved.

WISH: wide-field imaging surveyor at high redshift

WISH is a new space science mission concept whose primary goal is to study the first galaxies in the early universe. We will launch a 1.5m telescope equipped with 1000 arcmin2 wide-field NIR camera by late 2010s in order to conduct unique ultra-deep and wide-area sky surveys at 1-5 micron. The primary science goal of WISH mission is pushing the high-redshift frontier beyond the epoch of reionization by utilizing its unique imaging capability and the dedicated survey strategy. We expect to detect ~104 galaxies at z=8-9, ~3-6x103 galaxies at z=11-12, and ~50-100 galaxies at z=14-17 within about 5 years of the planned mission life time. It is worth mentioning that a large fraction of these objects may be bright enough for the spectroscopic observations with the extremely large telescopes. By adopting the optimized strategy for the recurrent observations to reach the depth, we also use the surveys to detect transient objects. Type Ia Supernova cosmology is thus another important primary goal of WISH. A unique optical layout has been developed to achieve the diffraction-limited imaging at 1-5micron over the required large area. Cooling the mirror and telescope to ~100K is needed to achieve the zodiacal light limited imaging and WISH will achieve the required temperature by passive cooling in the stable thermal environment at the orbit near Sun-Earth L2. We are conducting the conceptual studies and development for the important components of WISH including the exchange mechanism for the wide-field filters as well as the primary mirror fixation.