Abstract
The Origins Space Telescope’s (Origins) significant improvement over the scientific capabilities of prior infrared missions is based on its cold telescope (4.5 K) combined with low-noise far-IR detectors and ultrastable mid-IR detectors. A small number of new technologies will enable Origins to approach the fundamental sensitivity limit imposed by the natural sky background and deliver groundbreaking science. This paper describes a robust plan to mature the Origins mission, enabling cryocooler technology from current state-of-the-art (SOA) to Technology Readiness Level (TRL) 5 by 2025 and to TRL 6 by mission Preliminary Design Review. Entry TRLs corresponding to today’s SOA are 4 or 5, depending on the technology in question.
Highlights
To achieve the orders of magnitude improvements over the current state of the art spectroscopic sensitivity in the far infrared, Origins uses a cold, 4.5 K telescope and extremely sensitive detectors operating at 50 mK.[1]Taking advantage of radiation to deep space can enable achieving low temperatures
The results indicated that the stability requirements for the most sensitive instrument were met by a factor of more than 5
The Technology Readiness Level (TRL) 7 James Webb Space Telescope (JWST)/mid-infrared instrument (MIRI) cryocooler is designed to cool a primary load at 6.2 K and an intercept load at 18 K
Summary
To achieve the orders of magnitude improvements over the current state of the art spectroscopic sensitivity in the far infrared, Origins uses a cold, 4.5 K telescope and extremely sensitive detectors operating at 50 mK (see Fig. 1 and accompanying articles in this volume and the Origins Study Report).[1]. Cryocooler advancement is needed to cool the telescope to 4.5 K and the detectors in the far-infrared instruments to sub-Kelvin temperatures. Cooling the far-infrared detectors reduces their noise. Both are required to reach astronomical background-limited performance. The 4.5 K, 20 K, and 35 K regions are all nearly isothermal Cooling these areas at one location produces only small gradients. What is required is a scheme to transfer relatively cold fluid where it is produced (e.g., at the spacecraft) to where it is needed at the telescope, instruments, and surrounding structure. The scheme used by the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST)/ mid-infrared instrument (MIRI) cooler works for Origins, and the Origins system has been modeled after it. The results indicated that the stability requirements for the most sensitive instrument were met by a factor of more than 5
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