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Instrument Description
Instrument Description Summary
Polar Mission
Instrument Basic Parameters
UVI Camera
Optical system
FUV Filters
Detector system
Mechanisms
UVI Electronic
Stack (control electronics)
UVI Mechanical/Thermal Design
UVI Instrument Photographs
People who made UVI work
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Instrument Description Summary
The Ultraviolet Imager (UVI) consists of a
camera and an electronic support package known as the Electronic
Stack. The UVI is a two dimensional spatial imager which produces
images of the Earth's auroral regions in the far ultraviolet
wavelength range (130nm to 190 nm). Using any of five specially
designed filters the UVI camera will image an eight degree circular
field of view. Images are generated once every 37 seconds with
an angular resolution of 0.036 degrees. The Electronic Stack
monitors the status of the camera, controls the mechanical components
and serves as the electrical interface with the spacecraft. UVI
weighs 21 kilograms, uses 21 watts, and has a telemetry output
of 12 kbps. The overall sensitivity of the instrument is about
10 Rayleighs which is equivalent to being able to detect objects
more than 100 times fainter than the eye can see.
The UVI was manufactured, assembled and tested
at Marshall Center in a joint effort with the University of Alabama
in Huntsville, Ala. and Science and Engineering Associates in
Huntsville.
For more detailed information on the Ultraviolet
Imager instrument, go the top of the page
and click on the instrument subsystem of interest. Also, look
up the following paper:
'A Far Ultraviolet Imager for the International
Solar Terrestrial Physics Mission', M. R. Torr, D. G. Torr, M.
Zukic, R. B. Johnson, J. Ajello, P. Banks, K. Clark, K. Cole,
C. Keffer, G. Parks, B. Tsurutani, and J. Spann, Space Science
Reviews, Vol. 71: 329-383, 1995.
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Polar Mission
The UVI is one of 11 scientific instruments
launched with the GGS/Polar spacecraft on a Delta II rocket from
Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif. on February 23rd 1996. The
Polar space craft weighs 1,0050 kilograms (2,216 pounds) and
carries some 269 kilograms (593 pounds) of propellant for orbit
and attitude control. The design life of the Polar spacecraft
is three years. GGS is managed by NASA's Goddard Space Flight
Center (GSFC), Md., for the Office of Space Science at NASA Headquarters
in Washington, DC Data collected by the spacecraft is disseminated
to the UVI investigation team at Marshall Center from GSFC's
Central Data Handling facility.
Detailed analysis is performed and data is shared through the
NASA Science Internet connections throughout the United States,
Japan and Europe. More detail about the Polar mission is available
on the Polar
home page.
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Summary of Basic Instrument Parameters
|
Wavelength range (five filters) |
130-190 nm |
|
Focal Length |
124 mm |
|
f/# |
2.9 |
|
Full aperture |
12.13 cm sq |
|
Full solid angle |
1.53e-2 (sr.) |
|
Field of view (full angle) |
8 Degrees |
|
Number of spatial elements |
36728 |
|
Size of spatial elements at photocathode |
74x87 m |
Typical sensitivity per spatial
element at photocathode |
0.1 (Photoelectrons/R/37 s) |
|
Angular resolution |
~0.036 Degrees |
|
Data rate |
12Kpbs |
|
Power |
21 Watts |
|
Mass |
21 Kg |
The UVI was manufactured, assembled and tested
at Marshall Center in a joint effort with the University of Alabama
in Huntsville, Ala. and Science and Engineering Associates in
Huntsville.
For more detailed information on the Ultraviolet
Imager instrument, go the top of the page
and click on the instrument subsystem of interest. Also, look
up the following paper:
'A Far Ultraviolet Imager for the International
Solar Terrestrial Physics Mission', M. R. Torr, D. G. Torr, M.
Zukic, R. B. Johnson, J. Ajello, P. Banks, K. Clark, K. Cole,
C. Keffer, G. Parks, B. Tsurutani, and J. Spann, Space Science
Reviews, Vol. 71: 329-383, 1995.
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