FORCAST: the first light instrument for SOFIA

Joseph D. Adams; Terry L. Herter; George E. Gull; Justin Schoenwald; Luke D. Keller; Marc Berthoud; Gordon J. Stacy; Thomas Nikola; Charles P. Henderson

doi:10.1117/12.789510

9 July 2008 FORCAST: the first light instrument for SOFIA

Joseph D. Adams, Terry L. Herter, George E. Gull, Justin Schoenwald, Luke D. Keller, Marc Berthoud, Gordon J. Stacy, Thomas Nikola, Charles P. Henderson

Author Affiliations +

Proceedings Volume 7014, Ground-based and Airborne Instrumentation for Astronomy II; 70142F (2008) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.789510
Event: SPIE Astronomical Telescopes + Instrumentation, 2008, Marseille, France

Abstract

FORCAST has been selected to be the "first light" U.S. science instrument aboard SOFIA. FORCAST will offer dual channel imaging in discrete filters at 5 - 25 microns and 30 - 40 microns, with diffraction-limited imaging at wavelengths > 15 microns. FORCAST will have a plate scale of 0.75 arcsec per pixel, giving it a 3.2 arcmin x 3.2 arcmin FOV on SOFIA. We give a status update on FORCAST, including filter configuration for SOFIA's early science phase; anticipated in-flight performance; SOFIA facility testing with FORCAST; ground-based testing performance at Palomar Observatory; performance of its new dichroic beamsplitter; and a preliminary design of the in-flight calibration box.

Citation Download Citation

Joseph D. Adams, Terry L. Herter, George E. Gull, Justin Schoenwald, Luke D. Keller, Marc Berthoud, Gordon J. Stacy, Thomas Nikola, and Charles P. Henderson "FORCAST: the first light instrument for SOFIA", Proc. SPIE 7014, Ground-based and Airborne Instrumentation for Astronomy II, 70142F (9 July 2008); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.789510

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