The On-Orbit Performance of the Galaxy Evolution Explorer
/ Authors
P. Morrissey, D. Schiminovich, T. Barlow, D. C. Martin, B. Blakkolb, T. Conrow, B. Cooke, K. Erickson, J. Fanson, P. Friedman
and 29 more authors
R. Grange, P. Jelinsky, Siu-Chun Lee, Dankai Liu, A. Mazer, R. McLean, B. Milliard, D. Randall, W. Schmitigal, A. Sen, O. Siegmund, F. Surber, A. Vaughan, M. Viton, B. Welsh, L. Bianchi, Y. Byun, J. Donas, K. Forster, T. Heckman, Young-Wook Lee, B. Madore, B. Madore, R. Malina, S. Neff, R. Rich, T. Small, A. Szalay, T. Wyder
/ Abstract
We report the first year's on-orbit performance results for the Galaxy Evolution Explorer (GALEX), a NASA Small Explorer that is performing a survey of the sky in two ultraviolet bands. The instrument comprises a 50 cm diameter modified Ritchey-Chrétien telescope with a 1.°25 field of view, selectable imaging and objective-grism spectroscopic modes, and an innovative optical system with a thin-film multilayer dichroic beam splitter that enables simultaneous imaging by a pair of photon-counting, microchannel-plate, delay-line readout detectors. Initial measurements demonstrate that GALEX is performing well, meeting its requirements for resolution, efficiency, astrometry, bandpass definition, and survey sensitivity.
Journal: The Astrophysical Journal Letters
DOI: 10.1086/424734