Six years in orbit: the MCP detectors aboard the Extreme Ultraviolet Explorer Satellite

John V. Vallerga; Bryce A. Roberts; Jean Dupuis; Patrick N. Jelinsky

doi:10.1117/12.324429

28 August 1998 Six years in orbit: the MCP detectors aboard the Extreme Ultraviolet Explorer Satellite

John V. Vallerga, Bryce A. Roberts, Jean Dupuis, Patrick N. Jelinsky

Proceedings Volume 3356, Space Telescopes and Instruments V; (1998) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.324429
Event: Astronomical Telescopes and Instrumentation, 1998, Kona, HI, United States

Abstract

The Extreme UV Explorer satellite (EUVE) was launched on June 7, 1992 with seven microchannel plate detectors behind four telescopes. All seven detectors have been operating continuously since then, cycling the high voltage bias to half voltage during the daylight portions of the orbit as well as during passage through the South Atlantic Anomaly. This paper will present the time history of the detector performance characteristics, including spatial and spectral response, gain, and flat fields. We will also discuss our experiences with the thin-film filters used to define the detector EUV bandpasses including spatial and spectral response, gain, and flat fields. We will also discuss our experiences with the thin-film filters used to define the detector EUV bandpasses including the development of 'micro' pinholes in the Al/Ti/C filters. We then illustrate specific examples of detector problems and their solutions, such as 'dithering' the spacecraft pointing to average out the small scale image distortions and off-axis pointing to avoid an on-axis 'deadspot'.

Citation Download Citation

John V. Vallerga, Bryce A. Roberts, Jean Dupuis, and Patrick N. Jelinsky "Six years in orbit: the MCP detectors aboard the Extreme Ultraviolet Explorer Satellite", Proc. SPIE 3356, Space Telescopes and Instruments V, (28 August 1998); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.324429

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