The IRTS (Infrared Telescope in Space) Mission

[摘要] TheJapanesesatellite-borneinfraredtelescope,theInfraredTelescopeinSpace(IRTS),hascompletedasuccessfulsurveyofaportionoftheinfraredsky.TheIRTSconsistsofa15cmtelescopecooledwithsuperfluidliquidhelium,andisinstalledonboardtheSpaceFlyerUnit(SFU)spacecraft.TheSFUwaslaunchedon1995March18UT.TheskysurveybytheIRTSstartedonMarch29UT,andwascompletedonApril25UTafterexhaustingitsliquidhelium.Thecryogenicsystemoperatedasdesigned,andmaintainedthetelescopeandthefocal-planeinstrumentsatastabletemperatureof1.9Kfor38days.Thefourfocal-planeinstruments,whichtogethercoveredalmosttheentireinfraredwavelengthrange,observedaskyareaofabout2700deg2andreturnedawealthofnewdataonavarietyofobjects,includingthezodiacallight,interstellargasanddust,near-infraredcosmicbackgroundlightandpointsources.

[学科分类] 天文学(综合)

[关键词] "Infrared: general";Instruments;Spacecraft