Abstract

I describe the plans, flows, key facilities, test beds, pathfinders, simulators, and ground support equipment that could be used to fully integrate, functionally test, and qualify the Origins Space Telescope (Origins). The Origins observatory consists of the spacecraft bus module and the cryogenic payload module, which comprises the telescope and three science instruments. The telescope is a three-mirror anastigmat and is composed of four mirrors: three with optical power (the elliptical primary, hyperbolic secondary, and elliptical tertiary mirrors) and a flat field-steering mirror. The three science instruments spanning the wavelength range 2.8 to 588 μm provide the powerful new spectroscopic and imaging capabilities required to achieve the scientific objectives. The Origins Survey Spectrometer uses six gratings in parallel to take multibeam spectra simultaneously across the 25- to 588-μm window through long slits enabling deep three-dimensional extragalactic surveys. The far-IR imager/polarimeter provides imaging and polarimetric measurement capabilities at 50 and 250 μm. Its fast mapping enables rapid follow-up of transient or variable sources and efficient monitoring campaigns. The mid-infrared spectrometer simultaneously provides spectroscopy over 2.8 to 20 μm with exquisite stability and precision (<5 ppm between 2.8 and 10 μm, <20 ppm between 11 to 20 μm). All the instruments are delivered for integration and test fully qualified and calibrated. The integration and test program implemented at each level of assembly is discussed as well as the separation of thermal vacuum testing between the hot and cold zones of the observatory.

Highlights

  • Portions of this paper appear in the Origins Study Final Report.[1]

  • How did galaxies evolve from the earliest galactic systems to those found in the universe today? How do habitable planets form? How common are life-bearing worlds? To answer these questions, Origins will operate at mid- and far-infrared wavelengths and offer powerful spectroscopic instruments and sensitivity three orders of magnitude better than that of Herschel, the largest telescope flown in space to date

  • The Origins observatory consists of the spacecraft bus module (SBM) and the cryogenic payload module (CPM), which comprises the telescope and three science instruments

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Summary

Introduction

Portions of this paper appear in the Origins Study Final Report.[1] The Origins Space Telescope (Origins) traces our cosmic history, from the formation of the first galaxies and the rise of metals to the development of habitable worlds and present-day life. Origins does this through exquisite sensitivity to infrared radiation from ions, atoms, molecules, dust, water vapor, and ice, and observations of extra-solar planetary atmospheres, protoplanetary disks, and large-area extragalactic fields. Origins operates in the wavelength range 2.8 to 588 μm and is more than 1000 times more sensitive than its predecessors due to its large, cold (4.5 K) telescope and advanced instruments

Origins Overview
Launch Site Operations
Conclusions

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