SRG/eROSITA early phase and commissioning operations

D. Coutinho; W. Bornemann; R. Gaida; G. Hartner; W. Kink; N. Meidinger; S. Müller; P. Predehl

doi:10.1117/12.2562478

13 December 2020 SRG/eROSITA early phase and commissioning operations

D. Coutinho, W. Bornemann, R. Gaida, G. Hartner, W. Kink, N. Meidinger, S. Müller, P. Predehl

Proceedings Volume 11444, Space Telescopes and Instrumentation 2020: Ultraviolet to Gamma Ray; 114444S (2020) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2562478
Event: SPIE Astronomical Telescopes + Instrumentation, 2020, Online Only

Abstract

eROSITA (extended ROentgen Survey with an Imaging Telescope Array) is the primary scientific payload on board the SRG (Spektrum Röntgen Gamma) mission, successfully launched from Baikonur in July 2019. Following a 101 days cruise phase, SRG reached its final orbit around the Lagrangian point L2, where it will carry out its mission of making a full survey of the X-ray sky. eROSITA is a complex instrument composed of seven identical co-aligned X-ray telescopes with a focal length of 1600mm and an aperture of 350mm. Each telescope is equipped with an independent CCD camera. The cold redundant ITC (Interface and Thermal Controller) manages all seven cameras as well as the thermal control of the telescope and the interface to the spacecraft. The cruise phase of SRG was used to verify that all systems had survived launch and no degradation in the functionality was present. In addition, the critical one-time operations of opening the telescope cover and cooling the CCD detectors to -90°C were carried out during this phase. The extreme reliance on the instrument controller (ITC) for the survival of the telescope, in addition to the thermal control an data handling systems that are under control of the ITC, make it pertinent to report on how these systems behaved in the initial phases of the mission. This paper presents an overview of the telescope operations during the early phase and commissioning that verified functionality of thermal and electrical systems and commissioned the cameras before the important Calibration and Pointed Verification phase started. In addition, it reports on the challenges encountered and summarizes the results from this phase of eROSITA operations.

Citation Download Citation

D. Coutinho, W. Bornemann, R. Gaida, G. Hartner, W. Kink, N. Meidinger, S. Müller, and P. Predehl "SRG/eROSITA early phase and commissioning operations", Proc. SPIE 11444, Space Telescopes and Instrumentation 2020: Ultraviolet to Gamma Ray, 114444S (13 December 2020); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2562478

ACCESS THE FULL ARTICLE

INSTITUTIONAL
Select your institution to access the SPIE Digital Library.

SELECT YOUR INSTITUTION

PERSONAL
Sign in with your SPIE account to access your personal subscriptions or to use specific features such as save to my library, sign up for alerts, save searches, etc.

PERSONAL SIGN IN

No SPIE Account? Create one

PURCHASE THIS CONTENT

SUBSCRIBE TO DIGITAL LIBRARY

50 downloads per 1-year subscription

Members: $195

Non-members: $335 ADD TO CART

25 downloads per 1 - year subscription

Members: $145

Non-members: $250 ADD TO CART

PURCHASE SINGLE ARTICLE

Includes PDF, HTML & Video, when available

Members: $17.00

Non-members: $21.00 ADD TO CART

PROCEEDINGS
20 PAGES

DOWNLOAD PAPER SAVE TO MY LIBRARY

GET CITATION

RIGHTS & PERMISSIONS

Get copyright permission Get copyright permission on Copyright Marketplace

KEYWORDS

Telescopes

Cameras

Imaging arrays

X-ray telescopes

CCD cameras

CCD image sensors

Charge-coupled devices

Show All Keywords

Keywords/Phrases

Search In:

Publication Years