The slewing mirror telescope of the Ultra Fast Flash Observatory Pathfinder

Abstract

The Slewing Mirror Telescope (SMT) is a key telescope of Ultra-Fast Flash Observatory (UFFO) space project to explore the first sub-minute or sub-seconds early photons from the Gamma Ray Bursts (GRBs) afterglows. As the realization of UFFO, 20kg of UFFO-Pathfinder (UFFO-P) is going to be on board the Russian Lomonosov satellite in November 2012 by Soyuz-2 rocket. Once the UFFO Burst Alert & Trigger Telescope (UBAT) detects the GRBs, Slewing mirror (SM) will slew to bring new GRB into the SMT’s field of view rather than slewing the entire spacecraft. SMT can give a UV/Optical counterpart position rather moderated 4arcsec accuracy. However it will provide a important understanding of the GRB mechanism by measuring the sub-minute optical photons from GRBs. SMT can respond to the trigger over 35 degree x 35 degree wide field of view within 1 sec by using Slewing Mirror Stage (SMS). SMT is the reflecting telescope with 10cm Ritchey-Chretien type and 256 x 256 pixilated Intensified Charge-Coupled Device (ICCD). In this paper, we discuss the overall design of UFFO-P SMT instrument and payloads development status.