TopHat series of top mounted balloon-borne telescopes

Neil Martin; Michael James Amato; Matthew M. Buchko; Rodger Farley; Mark Frigaard; Joseph Generie; Mark A. McGinnis; Rene Engel Kristansen; Josef Polny; Richard E. Dame

doi:10.1117/12.255125

12 October 1996 TopHat series of top mounted balloon-borne telescopes

Neil Martin, Michael James Amato, Matthew M. Buchko, Rodger Farley, Mark Frigaard, Joseph Generie, Mark A. McGinnis, Rene Engel Kristansen, Josef Polny, Richard E. Dame

Author Affiliations +

Proceedings Volume 2807, Space Telescopes and Instruments IV; (1996) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.255125
Event: SPIE's 1996 International Symposium on Optical Science, Engineering, and Instrumentation, 1996, Denver, CO, United States

Abstract

We describe the engineering design and operational concept for a series of three complementary top mounted balloon- borne experiments to measure the Cosmic Microwave Background Radiation anisotropy, culminating in a two week circumpolar flight from McMurdo Station, Antarctica. Each experiment is designed to provide a maximum science return in addition to acting as a pathfinder to the successor flights of top- mounted balloon-borne experiments. The experiment program, named TopHat, will involve the launch and operation of the first far-infrared and microwave telescope flown entirely from the top of a 28 million cubic foot balloon. It utilizes a two axis gimbal pointing system, a one meter Cassegrain optical system with a chopping secondary mirror, and a ³He evaporation cryostat designed to maintain a bolometer detector temperature of 0.25 K for 30 days without cycling. The series of flights will begin with an engineering test flight scheduled for launch in July 1996 from Palestine, Texas, followed by a pointing experiment to be flown from Ft. Sumner, New Mexico in April 1997. A spinning experiment will be launched from Ft. Sumner in April 1998 and Antarctica in December 1998.

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Neil Martin, Michael James Amato, Matthew M. Buchko, Rodger Farley, Mark Frigaard, Joseph Generie, Mark A. McGinnis, Rene Engel Kristansen, Josef Polny, and Richard E. Dame "TopHat series of top mounted balloon-borne telescopes", Proc. SPIE 2807, Space Telescopes and Instruments IV, (12 October 1996); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.255125

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