Open Access
21 January 2022 On-orbit performance of the Spitzer Space Telescope: science meets engineering
Michael W. Werner, Patrick J. Lowrance, Thomas L. Roellig, Varoujan Gorjian, Joseph C. Hunt, Charles M. Bradford, Jessica E. Krick
Author Affiliations +
Abstract

The Spitzer Space Telescope operated for over 16 years in an Earth-trailing solar orbit, returning not only a wealth of scientific data but also, as a by-product, spacecraft and instrument engineering data that will be of interest to future mission planners. These data will be particularly useful because Spitzer operated in an environment essentially identical to that at the L2 LaGrange point, where many future astrophysics missions will operate. In particular, the radiative cooling demonstrated by Spitzer has been adopted by other infrared space missions, from JWST to SPHEREx. We aim to facilitate the utility of the Spitzer engineering data by collecting the more unique and potentially useful portions into a single, readily accessible publication. We avoid discussion of less unique systems, such as the telecom, flight software, and electronics systems, and do not address the innovations in mission and science operations that the Spitzer team initiated. These and other items of potential interest are addressed in references supplied in an appendix to this paper.

CC BY: © The Authors. Published by SPIE under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 Unported License. Distribution or reproduction of this work in whole or in part requires full attribution of the original publication, including its DOI.
Michael W. Werner, Patrick J. Lowrance, Thomas L. Roellig, Varoujan Gorjian, Joseph C. Hunt, Charles M. Bradford, and Jessica E. Krick "On-orbit performance of the Spitzer Space Telescope: science meets engineering," Journal of Astronomical Telescopes, Instruments, and Systems 8(1), 014002 (21 January 2022). https://doi.org/10.1117/1.JATIS.8.1.014002
Received: 13 July 2021; Accepted: 22 December 2021; Published: 21 January 2022
Lens.org Logo
CITATIONS
Cited by 2 scholarly publications.
Advertisement
Advertisement
KEYWORDS
Telescopes

Cryogenics

Solar cells

Space operations

Helium

Stars

Space telescopes

RELATED CONTENT


Back to Top