The Balloon-borne Large Aperture Submillimeter Telescope Observatory

Ian Lowe; Gabriele Coppi; Peter A. R. Ade; Peter C. Ashton; Jason E. Austermann; James Beall; Susan Clark; Erin G. Cox; Mark J. Devlin; Simon Dicker; Bradley J. Dober; Valentina Fanfani; Laura M. Fissel; Nicholas Galitzki; Jiangsong Gao; Brandon Hensley; Johannes Hubmayr; Steven Li; Zhi-yun Li; Nathan P. Lourie; Peter G. Martin; Philip Mauskopf; Federico Nati; Giles Novak; Giampaolo Pisano; Javier L. Romualdez; Adrian Sinclair; Juan D. Soler; Carole Tucker; Michael Vissers; Jordan Wheeler; Paul A. Williams; Mario Zannoni

doi:10.1117/12.2576146

13 December 2020 The Balloon-borne Large Aperture Submillimeter Telescope Observatory

Ian Lowe, Gabriele Coppi, Peter A. R. Ade, Peter C. Ashton, Jason E. Austermann, James Beall, Susan Clark, Erin G. Cox, Mark J. Devlin, Simon Dicker, Bradley J. Dober, Valentina Fanfani, Laura M. Fissel, Nicholas Galitzki, Jiangsong Gao, Brandon Hensley, Johannes Hubmayr, Steven Li, Zhi-yun Li, Nathan P. Lourie, Peter G. Martin, Philip Mauskopf, Federico Nati, Giles Novak, Giampaolo Pisano, Javier L. Romualdez, Adrian Sinclair, Juan D. Soler, Carole Tucker, Michael Vissers, Jordan Wheeler, Paul A. Williams, Mario Zannoni

Author Affiliations +

Proceedings Volume 11445, Ground-based and Airborne Telescopes VIII; 114457A (2020) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2576146
Event: SPIE Astronomical Telescopes + Instrumentation, 2020, Online Only

Conference Poster

Abstract

The BLAST Observatory is a proposed super-pressure balloon-borne polarimeter designed for a future ultra- long duration balloon campaign from Wanaka, New Zealand. To maximize scientific output while staying within the stringent super-pressure weight envelope, BLAST will feature new 1.8m off-axis optical system contained within a lightweight monocoque structure gondola. The payload will incorporate a 300 L ⁴He cryogenic receiver which will cool 8,274 microwave kinetic inductance detectors (MKIDs) to 100mK through the use of an adiabatic demagnetization refrigerator (ADR) in combination with a ³He sorption refrigerator all backed by a liquid helium pumped pot operating at 2 K. The detector readout utilizes a new Xilinx RFSOC-based system which will run the next-generation of the BLAST-TNG KIDPy software. With this instrument we aim to answer outstanding questions about dust dynamics as well as provide community access to the polarized submillimeter sky made possible by high-altitude observing unrestricted by atmospheric transmission. The BLAST Observatory is designed for a minimum 31-day flight of which 70% will be dedicated to observations for BLAST scientific goals and the remaining 30% will be open to proposals from the wider astronomical community through a shared-risk proposals program.

Conference Presentation

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Ian Lowe, Gabriele Coppi, Peter A. R. Ade, Peter C. Ashton, Jason E. Austermann, James Beall, Susan Clark, Erin G. Cox, Mark J. Devlin, Simon Dicker, Bradley J. Dober, Valentina Fanfani, Laura M. Fissel, Nicholas Galitzki, Jiangsong Gao, Brandon Hensley, Johannes Hubmayr, Steven Li, Zhi-yun Li, Nathan P. Lourie, Peter G. Martin, Philip Mauskopf, Federico Nati, Giles Novak, Giampaolo Pisano, Javier L. Romualdez, Adrian Sinclair, Juan D. Soler, Carole Tucker, Michael Vissers, Jordan Wheeler, Paul A. Williams, and Mario Zannoni "The Balloon-borne Large Aperture Submillimeter Telescope Observatory", Proc. SPIE 11445, Ground-based and Airborne Telescopes VIII, 114457A (13 December 2020); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2576146

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