The Black Hole Explorer: astrophysics mission concept engineering study report

Eliad Peretz; Peter Kurczynski; Michael D. Johnson; Janice Houston; Tirupati Kumara Sridharan; Jade Wang; Peter Galison; Ronald Gamble; Daniel Marrone; Scott Noble; Gary Melnick; Leonid Petrov; Hannah Rana; Kari Haworth; Sheperd S. Doeleman; Sara Issaoun; Shahar Hadar; Alexandru Lupsasca; Edward Tong; Kazunori Akiyama; Ranjani Srinivasan; Dan Boroson; Guangning Yang; Tiffany Hoerbelt; Jeffrey Small; Mareki Honma; Bryan Bilyeu; Ed Canavan; Katia Shtyrkova; Robert Lafon; Lenny Paritsky; Laura C. Sinclair; Mark Silver; Leonid Gurvits; Yuri Kovalev; Robert Lehmensiek; Hua Jiao; Lindy Blackburn; Alexandra Brosius; Rick Butler; Andrew Chael; Dominic Chang; Koushik Chatterjee; Peter Cheimets; Daniel D'Orazio; Thomas Essinger-Hileman; Vincent Fish; Garret Fitzpatrick; Charles Gammie; Zachary Gelles; Michael Hecht; Jens Kauffmann; Jared Lucey; Chung-Pei Ma; Mark Matsumura; Daniel Palumbo; Dominic Pesce; Jeff Piepmeier; Christopher J. Roberts; Freek Roelofs; Paul Tiede; Jaye Verniero; Maciek Wielgus; Ed Wollack; George N. Wong; Kelsey Gilchrist; Kayla Carmical; Andrew Lewis; Maya Wertheim; Keshet Shavit

doi:10.1117/12.3019010

23 August 2024 The Black Hole Explorer: astrophysics mission concept engineering study report

Eliad Peretz, Peter Kurczynski, Michael D. Johnson, Janice Houston, Tirupati Kumara Sridharan, Jade Wang, Peter Galison, Ronald Gamble, Daniel Marrone, Scott Noble, Gary Melnick, Leonid Petrov, Hannah Rana, Kari Haworth, Sheperd S. Doeleman, Sara Issaoun, Shahar Hadar, Alexandru Lupsasca, Edward Tong, Kazunori Akiyama, Ranjani Srinivasan, Dan Boroson, Guangning Yang, Tiffany Hoerbelt, Jeffrey Small, Mareki Honma, Bryan Bilyeu, Ed Canavan, Katia Shtyrkova, Robert Lafon, Lenny Paritsky, Laura C. Sinclair, Mark Silver, Leonid Gurvits, Yuri Kovalev, Robert Lehmensiek, Hua Jiao, Lindy Blackburn, Alexandra Brosius, Rick Butler, Andrew Chael, Dominic Chang, Koushik Chatterjee, Peter Cheimets, Daniel D'Orazio, Thomas Essinger-Hileman, Vincent Fish, Garret Fitzpatrick, Charles Gammie, Zachary Gelles, Michael Hecht, Jens Kauffmann, Jared Lucey, Chung-Pei Ma, Mark Matsumura, Daniel Palumbo, Dominic Pesce, Jeff Piepmeier, Christopher J. Roberts, Freek Roelofs, Paul Tiede, Jaye Verniero, Maciek Wielgus, Ed Wollack, George N. Wong, Kelsey Gilchrist, Kayla Carmical, Andrew Lewis, Maya Wertheim, Keshet Shavit

Author Affiliations +

Proceedings Volume 13092, Space Telescopes and Instrumentation 2024: Optical, Infrared, and Millimeter Wave; 130922F (2024) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.3019010
Event: SPIE Astronomical Telescopes + Instrumentation, 2024, Yokohama, Japan

Abstract

The Black Hole Explorer (BHEX) mission will enable the study of the fine photon ring structure, aiming to reveal the clear universal signatures of multiple photon orbits and true tests of general relativity, while also giving astronomers access to a much greater population of black hole shadows. Spacecraft orbits can sample interferometric Fourier spacings that are inaccessible from the ground, providing unparalleled angular resolution for the most detailed spatial studies of accretion and photon orbits and better time resolution. The BHEX mission concept provides space Very Long Baseline Interferometry (VLBI) at submillimeter wavelengths measurements to study black holes in coordination with the Event Horizon Telescope and other radio telescopes. This report presents the BHEX engineering goals, objectives and TRL analysis for a selection of the BHEX subsystems. This work aims to lay some of the groundwork for a near-term Explorers class mission proposal.

Conference Presentation

(2024) Published by SPIE. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.

Citation Download Citation

Eliad Peretz, Peter Kurczynski, Michael D. Johnson, Janice Houston, Tirupati Kumara Sridharan, Jade Wang, Peter Galison, Ronald Gamble, Daniel Marrone, Scott Noble, Gary Melnick, Leonid Petrov, Hannah Rana, Kari Haworth, Sheperd S. Doeleman, Sara Issaoun, Shahar Hadar, Alexandru Lupsasca, Edward Tong, Kazunori Akiyama, Ranjani Srinivasan, Dan Boroson, Guangning Yang, Tiffany Hoerbelt, Jeffrey Small, Mareki Honma, Bryan Bilyeu, Ed Canavan, Katia Shtyrkova, Robert Lafon, Lenny Paritsky, Laura C. Sinclair, Mark Silver, Leonid Gurvits, Yuri Kovalev, Robert Lehmensiek, Hua Jiao, Lindy Blackburn, Alexandra Brosius, Rick Butler, Andrew Chael, Dominic Chang, Koushik Chatterjee, Peter Cheimets, Daniel D'Orazio, Thomas Essinger-Hileman, Vincent Fish, Garret Fitzpatrick, Charles Gammie, Zachary Gelles, Michael Hecht, Jens Kauffmann, Jared Lucey, Chung-Pei Ma, Mark Matsumura, Daniel Palumbo, Dominic Pesce, Jeff Piepmeier, Christopher J. Roberts, Freek Roelofs, Paul Tiede, Jaye Verniero, Maciek Wielgus, Ed Wollack, George N. Wong, Kelsey Gilchrist, Kayla Carmical, Andrew Lewis, Maya Wertheim, and Keshet Shavit "The Black Hole Explorer: astrophysics mission concept engineering study report", Proc. SPIE 13092, Space Telescopes and Instrumentation 2024: Optical, Infrared, and Millimeter Wave, 130922F (23 August 2024); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.3019010

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