In-flight performance of the NIRSpec Micro Shutter Array
Research output: Contribution to journal › Conference article › Research › peer-review
Documents
- 121803R
Final published version, 4 MB, PDF document
The NIRSpec instrument on the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) brings the first multi-object spectrograph (MOS) into space, enabled by a programmable Micro Shutter Array (MSA) of similar to 250,000 individual apertures. During the 6-month Commissioning period, the MSA performed admirably, completing similar to 800 reconfigurations with an average success rate of similar to 96% for commanding shutters open in science-like patterns. We show that 82.5% of the unvignetted shutter population is usable for science, with electrical short masking now the primary cause of inoperable apertures. In response, we propose a plan to recheck existing shorts during nominal operations, which is expected to reduce the number of affected shutters. We also present a full assessment of the Failed Open and Failed Closed shutter populations, which both show a marginal increase in line with predictions from ground testing. We suggest an amendment to the Failed Closed shutter flagging scheme to improve flexibility for MSA configuration planning. Overall, the NIRSpec MSA performed very well during Commissioning, and the MOS mode was declared ready for science operations on schedule.
Original language | English |
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Article number | 121803R |
Journal | Proceedings of SPIE |
Volume | 12180 |
Number of pages | 15 |
ISSN | 0277-786X |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - 27 Aug 2022 |
Event | Conference on Space Telescopes and Instrumentation - Optical, Infrared, and Millimeter Wave - Montreal, Canada Duration: 17 Jul 2022 → 22 Jul 2022 |
Conference
Conference | Conference on Space Telescopes and Instrumentation - Optical, Infrared, and Millimeter Wave |
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Country | Canada |
City | Montreal |
Period | 17/07/2022 → 22/07/2022 |
- JWST, NIRSpec, MEMS, Micro Shutters, Multi-object spectroscopy, MOS, Operations, INFRARED SPECTROGRAPH NIRSPEC
Research areas
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