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Register a new userFirst Operation of TES Microcalorimeters in Space with the Micro-X Sounding Rocket
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Micro-X is a sounding rocket-borne instrument that uses a microcalorimeter array to perform high-resolution X-ray spectroscopy. This instrument flew for the first time on July 22nd, 2018 from the White Sands Missile Range, USA. This flight marks the first successful operation of a Transition-Edge Sensor array and its time division multiplexing read-out system in space. This launch was dedicated to the observation of the supernova remnant Cassiopeia A. A failure in the attitude control system prevented the rocket from pointing and led to no time on target. The on-board calibration source provided X-rays in flight, and it is used to compare detector performance during pre-flight integration, flight, and after the successful post-flight recovery. This calibration data demonstrates the capabilities of the detector in a space environment as well as its potential for future flights.
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With its first flight in 2018, Micro-X became the first program to fly Transition-Edge Sensors and their SQUID readouts in space. The science goal was a high-resolution, spatially resolved X-ray spectrum of the Cassiopeia A Supernova Remnant. While a rocket pointing error led to no time on target, the data was used to demonstrate the flight performance of the instrument. The detectors observed X-rays from the on-board calibration source, but a susceptibility to external magnetic fields limited their livetime. Accounting for this, no change was observed in detector response between ground operation and flight operation. This paper provides an overview of the first flight performance and focuses on the upgrades made in preparation for reflight. The largest changes have been upgrading the SQUIDs to mitigate magnetic susceptibility, synchronizing the clocks on the digital electronics to minimize beat frequencies, and replacing the mounts between the cryostat and the rocket skin to improve mechanical integrity. As the first flight performance was consistent with performance on the ground, reaching the instrument goals in the laboratory is considered a strong predictor of future flight performance.
The Micro-X sounding rocket flew for the first time on July 22, 2018, becoming the first program to fly Transition-Edge Sensors and multiplexing SQUID readout electronics in space. While a rocket pointing failure led to no time on-target, the success of the flight systems was demonstrated. The successful flight operation of the instrument puts the program in a position to modify the payload for indirect galactic dark matter searches. The payload modifications are motivated by the science requirements of this observation. Micro-X can achieve world-leading sensitivity in the keV regime with a single flight. Dark matter sensitivity projections have been updated to include recent observations and the expected sensitivity of Micro-X to these observed fluxes. If a signal is seen (as seen in the X-ray satellites), Micro-X can differentiate an atomic line from a dark matter signature.
A NASA sounding rocket for high contrast imaging with a visible nulling coronagraph, the Planet Imaging Coronagraphic Technology Using a Reconfigurable Experimental Base (PICTURE-B) payload has made two suborbital attempts to observe the warm dust disk inferred around Epsilon Eridani. We present results from the November 2015 launch demonstrating active wavefront sensing in space with a piezoelectric mirror stage and a micromachine deformable mirror along with precision pointing and lightweight optics in space.
A NASA sounding rocket for high-contrast imaging with a visible nulling coronagraph, the PICTURE payload, has made two suborbital attempts to observe the warm dust disk inferred around Epsilon Eridani. The first flight in 2011 demonstrated a 5 milliarcsecond fine pointing system in space. The reduced flight data from the second launch, on 25 November 2015, presented herein, demonstrate active sensing of wavefront phase in space. Despite several anomalies in flight, post-facto reduction phase stepping interferometer data provides insight into the wavefront sensing precision and the system stability for a portion of the pupil. These measurements show the actuation of a 32$times$32-actuator microelectromechanical system deformable mirror. The wavefront sensor reached a median precision of 1.4 nanometers per pixel, with 95% of samples between 0.8 and 12.0 nanometers per pixel. The median system stability, including telescope and coronagraph wavefront errors other than tip, tilt, and piston, was 3.6 nanometers per pixel, with 95% of samples between 1.2 and 23.7 nanometers per pixel.
I summarize the excitement of my role primarily in the early years of X-ray Astronomy. As a second-generation X-ray astronomer, I was privileged to participate in the enormous advance of the field, both technically and astrophysically, that occurred in the late 1960s and 1970s. The remainder of my career has concentrated on the design, construction, calibration, operation, and scientific maintenance of the cathedral that is the Chandra X-Ray Observatory. I contrast my early experiences with the current environment for the design and development of instrumentation, especially X-ray optics, which are absolutely essential for the development of the discipline. I express my concerns for the future of X-ray astronomy and offer specific suggestions that I hope will advance the discipline at a more effective and rapid pace.
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