A SPECS update: engineering and technology requirements for a space-based far-IR imaging interferometer

David T. Leisawitz; Ronald J. Allen; Charles L. Baker; Dominic J. Benford; Claudio Bombardelli; Michael J. DiPirro; Pascale Ehrenfreund; Neal J. Evans II; Martin Harwit; Tristram T. Hyde; Antoine Labeyrie; Jesse A. Leitner; Alice Liu; Enrico C. Lorenzini; Richard G. Lyon; Anthony J. Martino; John C. Mather; Karl M. Menten; S. Harvey Moseley Jr.; Lee G. Mundy; Takao Nakagawa; Stanford Ollendorf; John Pearson; Dave A. Quinn; Stephen A. Rinehart; Juan Roman; Shobita Satyapal; Robert F. Silverberg; H. Philip Stahl; Mark R. Swain; Theodore D. Swanson; Wesley Arthur Traub; Edward L. Wright; Harold W. Yorke

doi:10.1117/12.552104

20 October 2004 A SPECS update: engineering and technology requirements for a space-based far-IR imaging interferometer

David T. Leisawitz, Ronald J. Allen, Charles L. Baker, Dominic J. Benford, Claudio Bombardelli, Michael J. DiPirro, Pascale Ehrenfreund, Neal J. Evans II, Martin Harwit, Tristram T. Hyde, Antoine Labeyrie, Jesse A. Leitner, Alice Liu, Enrico C. Lorenzini, Richard G. Lyon, Anthony J. Martino, John C. Mather, Karl M. Menten, S. Harvey Moseley Jr., Lee G. Mundy, Takao Nakagawa, Stanford Ollendorf, John Pearson, Dave A. Quinn, Stephen A. Rinehart, Juan Roman, Shobita Satyapal, Robert F. Silverberg, H. Philip Stahl, Mark R. Swain, Theodore D. Swanson, Wesley Arthur Traub, Edward L. Wright, Harold W. Yorke

Author Affiliations +

Proceedings Volume 5491, New Frontiers in Stellar Interferometry; (2004) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.552104
Event: SPIE Astronomical Telescopes + Instrumentation, 2004, Glasgow, United Kingdom

Abstract

The Submillimeter Probe of the Evolution of Cosmic Structure (SPECS) is a space-based imaging and spectral ("double Fourier") interferometer with kilometer maximum baseline lengths for imaging. This NASA "vision mission" will provide spatial resolution in the far-IR and submillimeter spectral range comparable to that of the Hubble Space Telescope, enabling astrophysicists to extend the legacy of current and planned far-IR observatories. The astrophysical information uniquely available with SPECS and its pathfinder mission SPIRIT will be briefly described, but that is more the focus of a companion paper in the Proceedings of the Optical, Infrared, and Millimeter Space Telescopes conference. Here we present an updated design concept for SPECS and for the pathfinder interferometer SPIRIT (Space Infrared Interferometric Telescope) and focus on the engineering and technology requirements for far-IR double Fourier interferometry. We compare the SPECS optical system requirements with those of existing ground-based and other planned space-based interferometers, such as SIM and TPF-I/Darwin.

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David T. Leisawitz, Ronald J. Allen, Charles L. Baker, Dominic J. Benford, Claudio Bombardelli, Michael J. DiPirro, Pascale Ehrenfreund, Neal J. Evans II, Martin Harwit, Tristram T. Hyde, Antoine Labeyrie, Jesse A. Leitner, Alice Liu, Enrico C. Lorenzini, Richard G. Lyon, Anthony J. Martino, John C. Mather, Karl M. Menten, S. Harvey Moseley Jr., Lee G. Mundy, Takao Nakagawa, Stanford Ollendorf, John Pearson, Dave A. Quinn, Stephen A. Rinehart, Juan Roman, Shobita Satyapal, Robert F. Silverberg, H. Philip Stahl, Mark R. Swain, Theodore D. Swanson, Wesley Arthur Traub, Edward L. Wright, and Harold W. Yorke "A SPECS update: engineering and technology requirements for a space-based far-IR imaging interferometer", Proc. SPIE 5491, New Frontiers in Stellar Interferometry, (20 October 2004); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.552104

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