The extragalactic background light (EBL) is the integrated diffuse emissions from unresolved stars, galaxies, and intergalactic matter along the line of sight. The EBL is regarded as consisting of stellar emissions and thus an important observational quantity for studying global star formation history throughout cosmic time. Intensity and anisotropy in the near-infrared EBL as measured by the Cosmic Infrared Background ExpeRiment (CIBER), NASA’s sounding rocket experiment, and previous infrared satellites exceed the predicted signal from galaxy clustering alone. The objective of CIBER-2 is to unveil the EBL excess by observing it at extended wavelengths into the visible spectrum with an accuracy better than CIBER. The onboard instrument of CIBER2 comprises a 28.5-cm telescope cooled to 90K, and three HAWAII-2RG detectors coupled with dual-band filters for photometric mapping observations in six wavebands simultaneously and with linear variable filters for lowresolution spectroscopy. Although CIBER-2 made a successful first flight from White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico in 2021, technical problems such as contamination of thermal radiation from the rocket chassis and degradation of the mirror coat were recognized. Despite a successful second flight in 2023 solving the problems with the revised onboard instrument, the experiment was aborted because of trouble with the rocket tracking system. In this paper, we describe the parachute-recovered payload rebuilt after the second flight and the testing, and we report the successful flight on May 5th 2024.
The extragalactic background light (EBL) is the integrated emission from out of our Galaxy.Its observation is crucial for revealing the history of star-formation from the early universe to the present epoch. Visible Extragalactic background RadiaTion Exploration by CubeSat (VERTECS) is a 6U astronomical satellite to observe the EBL in visible wavelength from 0.4 µm to 0.8 µm. To observe the EBL, a telescope with 11 lenses and a high-performance CMOS sensor are equipped within 3U volume. The remaining 3U comprises the bus section mainly based on the bus design previously developed at Kyushu Institute of Technology. This paper describes the design and verification processes of the structure and thermal model of the satellite to fulfill the interface and mission requirements. From a mission perspective, the precise attitude and orbit control system unit is mounted on the same interface plate as the telescope to meet stringent pointing stability requirements during observations. The purpose of the stiff design of this interface plate is to minimize structural deformation. Furthermore, integrating multiple external antennas with relatively large X-band and S-band communication units require effective routing harness management. Static stress analysis is performed under the quasistatic loading condition. In addition, modal analysis is also conducted to fulfill the strength and stiffness requirements of the launcher. A series of mechanical environmental tests (shock, random, and sinusoidal vibrations) have been conducted to verify the design and analysis results. The results showed that designed model can fundamentally withstand the launch environment.
We describe scientific objective and project status of an astronomical 6U CubeSat mission VERTECS (Visible Extragalactic background RadiaTion Exploration by CubeSat). The scientific goal of VERTECS is to reveal the star-formation history along the evolution of the universe by measuring the extragalactic background light (EBL) in the visible wavelength. Earlier observations have shown that the near-infrared EBL is several times brighter than integrated light of individual galaxies. As candidates for the excess light, first-generation stars in the early universe or low-redshift intra-halo light have been proposed. Since these objects are expected to show different emission spectra in visible wavelengths, multi-color visible observations are crucial to reveal the origin of the excess light. Since detection sensitivity of the EBL depends on the product of the telescope aperture and the field of view, it is possible to observe it with a small but wide-field telescope system that can be mounted on the limited volume of CubeSat. In VERTECS mission, we develop a 6U CubeSat equipped with a 3U-sized telescope optimized for observation of the visible EBL. The bus system composed of onboard computer, electric power system, communication subsystem, and structure is based on heritage of series of CubeSats developed at Kyushu Institute of Technology in combination with high-precision attitude control subsystem and deployable solar array paddle required for the mission. The VERTECS mission was selected for JAXA-Small Satellite Rush Program (JAXA-SMASH Program), a new program that encourages universities, private companies and JAXA to collaborate to realize small satellite missions utilizing commercial small launch opportunities, and to diversify transportation services in Japan. We started the satellite development in December 2022 and plan to launch the satellite in FY2025.
Extragalactic Background Light (EBL), the cumulative light from outside the galaxy, is a crucial observational target for understanding the history of the universe. We are developing a CubeSat; VERTECS (Visible Extragalactic background RadiaTion Exploration by CubeSat) with a 6U size (approximately 10 × 20 × 30 cm), equipped with Solar Array Wings (SAW). Our mission is to conduct extensive observations of the visible EBL. The satellite is designed to operate in a sun-synchronous orbit at an altitude of 500-680 km (approximately 15 orbits per day) and observe the EBL on the shadow side to avoid stray light from the Sun and Earth. To observe EBL, a high-performance CMOS sensor, attitude control devices, and high-speed communication equipment X-band are essential. We should note that these components these components consume a significant amount of power. Therefore, some strategic operational plans are necessary to operate this CubeSat within the limited power resources. In addition, VERTECS needs to meet its mission requirements, conducting 10 observations, 4 data downlinks, and 1 command uplink within a day. We have constructed some operational scenarios utilizing attitude control and SAW to meet these requirements, and we also constructed a power budget simulation for VERTECS. In this presentation, we describe how we plan to operate VERTECS utilizing the subsystems and the results of the power simulation during the operation.
KEYWORDS: Satellites, Electron beam lithography, Analog to digital converters, Galactic astronomy, Satellite communications, Control systems, Visible radiation, Stars, Engineering, Optical filters
The Visible Extragalactic background RadiaTion Exploration by CubeSat (VERTECS) is designed for observing Extragalactic Background Light(EBL). VERTECS mission requires attitude control stability better than 10 arcsec (1σ) per minute, pointing accuracy better than 0.1 deg, and the slew rate faster than 1 deg per sec. We discuss the software-in-the-loop (SIL) attitude simulator simulation to verify whether the current Attitude Determination Control System (ADCS) design and the planned orbit can meet the requirements for EBL observations. We simulate the attitude control system with the simulation software, taking into account the attitude control commands, the parameters of the ADCS hardware, and the expected attitude disturbances in the assumed orbit. This simulation shows the sequence of attitude maneuvers needed to meet the requirement. The simulation results indicate that the current observation sequence is feasible.
The extragalactic background light (EBL) is the integrated emission from all objects outside of the Milky Way galaxy and is a crucial observational quantity in the broader study of the history of cosmic structures. In the nearinfrared EBL, there have been measurements of an emission component several times brighter than the cumulative light from extragalactic galaxies. This unknown radiation component has led to proposals for candidate source objects, such as first stars and galactic halo brown dwarfs. These source objects exhibit distinct radiation spectra in the visible wavelength. The VERTECS (Visible Extragalactic background RadiaTion Exploration by CubeSat) project is focused on continuously observing the visible EBL using a wide-field small telescope on a 6U CubeSat. The primary characteristic of this telescope is its high-throughput (SΩ > 10−6 m2sr). The 3U-sized optical telescope onboard this satellite consists of a lens optics with a total field of view of 6° × 6°, pixel field of view of 11” × 11”, a highly sensitive and low-noise detector module, and a baffle to eliminate stray light from the Sun and Earth. Additionally, color filters divide the wavelength range from 400 to 800 nm into four bands. Our observation strategy involves capturing 60-second exposure images while shifting the observed field by 3° increments and stacking the acquired images to perform photometry in the four bands. Thus far, most of the telescope design has met the required specifications, and the project is currently advancing towards the production of an engineering model. This project was selected in the JAXA-SMASH and is currently progressing in satellite development with a planned launch in the 2025 fiscal year. In this presentation, we will report on the strategy for observing the visible EBL, the progress in the development of the optical telescope, and the future plans.
The total integrated emission from galaxies, known as the Extragalactic Background Light (EBL), is an important observable for understanding the history of star formation over the history of the universe. Spatial fluctuations in the infrared EBL as measured by the Cosmic Infrared Background ExpeRiment (CIBER), Spitzer and AKARI exceed the predicted signal from galaxy clustering alone. The CIBER-2 project seeks to extend CIBER observa- tions of the EBL throughout the near infrared into the optical, through measurements above Earth's atmosphere during a suborbital sounding rocket flight. The experiment has a LN2-cooled 28.5 cm Cassegrain telescope along with three optical paths and dichroic beamsplitters, which are used to obtain three wide-field images in six broad spectral bands between 0.5-2.0 μm. The three focal planes also contain linear variable filters (LVFs) which simultaneously take spectra with resolution R=20 across the same range. CIBER-2 is scheduled to y multiple times on a Black Brant IX sounding rocket from White Sands Missile Range in the New Mexico desert. For the first flight, scheduled for early 2021, we have completed a variety of pre-flight optical tests, which we use to make focus adjustments, spectral response measurements, and absolute photometric calibrations. In this paper, we describe the methods behind these tests and present their results for pre-flight performance evaluation. In particular, we present measurements of the PSF for each broad spectral band, along with absolute calibration factors for each band and the LVF. Through monochromator scans, we also measure the spectral responsivity of each LVF as a function of position.
The extragalactic background light (EBL) is the integrated emission from all objects outside of the Milky Way galaxy. Imprinted by the history of stellar emission, the EBL in the near infrared traces light back to the birth of the first stars in the Universe and can allow tight constraints on structure formation models. Recent studies using data from the Spitzer Space Telescope and the first Cosmic Infrared Background ExpeRiment (CIBER-1) find that there are excess fluctuations in the EBL on large scales which have been attributed to either high redshift galaxies and quasars, or to stars that were stripped from their host galaxies during merging events. To help disentangle these two models, multi-wavelength data can be used to trace their distinctive spectral features. Following the success of CIBER-1, CIBER-2 is designed to identify the sources of the EBL excess fluctuations using data in six wavebands covering the optical and near infrared. The experiment consists of a cryogenic payload and is scheduled to launch four times on a recoverable sounding rocket. CIBER-2 has a 28.5 cm telescope coupled with an optics system to obtain wide-field images in six broad spectral bands between 0.5 and 2.5 μm simultaneously. The experiment uses 2048 × 2048 HAWAII-2RG detector arrays and a cryogenic star tracker. A prototype of the cryogenic star tracker is under construction for a separate launch to verify its performance and star tracking algorithm. The mechanical, optical, and electrical components of the CIBER-2 experiment will have been integrated into the payload by mid-2018. Here we present the final design of CIBER-2 and our team’s instrument characterization efforts. The design and analysis of the optical focus tests will be discussed. We also report on the performance of CIBER-2 support systems, including the cooling mechanisms and deployable components. Finally, we outline the remaining tasks required to prepare the payload for launch.
Cosmic Infrared Background ExpeRiment-2 (CIBER-2) is an international project to make a rocket-borne measurement of the Cosmic Infrared Background (CIB) using three HAWAII-2RG image sensors. Since the rocket telemetry is unable to downlink all the image data in real time, we adopt an onboard data storage board for each sensor electronics. In this presentation, the development of the data storage board and the Ground Station Electronics (GSE) system for CIBER2 are described. We have fabricated, integrated, and tested all systems and confirmed that all work as expected, and are ready for flight.
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