NSSDCA ID: 1989-089A-01
Mission Name: COBEThe far-IR absolute spectrophotometer (FIRAS) is a cryogenically cooled polarizing Michelson interferometer used as a Fourier transform spectrometer. The instrument points along the spin axis and has a 7-deg field of view. This device measures the spectrum to a precision of 1/1000 of the peak flux at 1.7 mm for each 7-deg field of view on the sky (over the range 0.1 to 10 mm). The FIRAS uses a special flared trumpet horn flux collector having very low sidelobe levels and an external calibrator covering the entire beam; precise temperature regulation and calibration are required. The instrument has a differential input to compare the sky with an internal reference at 3 deg K. This feature provides immunity from systematic errors in the spectrometer, and contributes significantly to the ability to detect small deviations from a blackbody spectrum. The instrument weighs 60 kg, uses 84 W and has a data rate of 1200 bps.
Mass: 30 kg
Power (avg): 84 W
Bit rate (avg): 1.2 kbps
Questions and comments about this experiment can be directed to: Coordinated Request and User Support Office
Name | Role | Original Affiliation | |
---|---|---|---|
Dr. Samuel Gulkis | Other Investigator | NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory | samuel.gulkins@jpl.nasa.gov |
Dr. Rainer Weiss | Other Investigator | Massachusetts Institute of Technology | weiss@ligo.mit.edu |
Dr. George F. Smoot, III | Other Investigator | Lawrence Berkeley Laboratories | smoot@astra.lbl.govsmoot@cosmos.lbl.gov |
Dr. David T. Wilkinson | Other Investigator | Princeton University | |
Dr. Michael G. Hauser | Other Investigator | NASA Goddard Space Flight Center | hauser@stsci.edu |
Dr. John C. Mather | Principal Investigator | NASA Goddard Space Flight Center | john.c.mather@nasa.gov |