The WIRE instrument is a cryogenically-cooled 30 cm Ritchey-Chretien telescope system that illuminates two 128x128 arsenic-doped silicon infrared detector arrays. A passive, two-stage solid hydrogen cryostat maintains the optics colder than 19 K and the detector arrays below 7.5 K. The optical system consists of the telescope primary and secondary mirrors, a dichroic beamsplitter, one optical passband filter, and baffles. The two channels of the instrument cover broad bands centered near 12 microns and 25 microns; the 25 micron band is the primary one for detecting starburst galaxies. The pixels are 15.5 arcseconds on a side, providing a 33x33 arcminute field of view in each passband. The instrument contains no moving parts. A cutaway is presented below.
The following table lists
some important instrument and mission parameters:
| Telescope | 30 cm Ritchey Chretien |
| Detectors | 128x128 Si:As BIB arrays |
| Passbands | 21-27 microns, and 9-15 microns |
| Field of View | 33x33 sq. arcminutes |
| Pixel Size | 75 microns, or 15.5 arcsec |
| Final Spatial Resolution | ~23 arcsec at 25 microns; ~20 arcsec at 12 microns |
| Cryostat | Dual-stage, solid hydrogen |
| Operating temperatures | < 7.5 K (arrays), 12 K (optics) |
| Cryogen lifetime | 4 months |
| Orbit | 470x540 km, 97 deg inclination, Sun-synchronous orbit |
| Launch vehicle | Air-launched Pegasus XL |
| Launch date | >March 1, 1999 |
Please see the following for more information:
Last Updated: 9/3/97