KEYWORDS: Software development, Telescopes, Data modeling, Computer architecture, Control systems, Atmospheric Cherenkov telescopes, Data acquisition, Data archive systems, Design, Cameras
The Astrophysics with Italian Replicating Technology Mirrors (ASTRI) Mini-Array is an international collaboration led by the Italian National Institute for Astrophysics (INAF) and devoted to imaging atmospheric Cherenkov light for very-high γ-ray astrophysics, detection of cosmic-rays, and stellar Hambury-Brown intensity interferometry. The project is deploying an array of nine dual-mirror aplanatic imaging atmospheric Cherenkov telescopes of 4-m class at the Teide Observatory on Tenerife in the Canary Islands. Based on SiPM sensors, the focal plane camera covers an unprecedented field of view of 10.5 deg in diameter. The array is most sensitive to γ-ray radiation above 1 up to 200 TeV, with an angular resolution of 3 arcmin, better than the current particle arrays, such as LHAASO and HAWC. We describe the overall software architecture of the ASTRI Mini-Array and the software engineering approach for its development. The software covers the entire life cycle of the Mini-Array, from scheduling to remote operations, data acquisition, and processing until data dissemination. The on-site control software allows remote array operations from different locations, including automated reactions to critical conditions. All data are collected every night, and the array trigger is managed post facto. The high-speed networking connection between the observatory site and the Data Center in Rome allows for ready data availability for stereoscopic event reconstruction, data processing, and almost real-time science products generation.
KEYWORDS: Data modeling, Atmospheric Cherenkov telescopes, Control systems, Software development, Telescopes, Data processing, Data archive systems, Data acquisition, Calibration, Computer architecture
The ASTRI Mini-Array is an international collaboration led by the Italian National Institute for Astrophysics (INAF) and devoted to the imaging of atmospheric Cherenkov light for very-high gamma-ray astronomy. The project is deploying an array of 9 telescopes sensitive above 1 TeV. In this contribution, we present the architecture of the software that covers the entire life cycle of the observatory, from scheduling to remote operations and data dissemination. The high-speed networking connection available between the observatory site, at the Canary Islands, and the Data Center in Rome allows for ready data availability for stereo triggering and data processing.
The ASTRI (Astrofisica con Specchi a Tecnologia Replicante Italiana) Project was born as a collaborative international effort led by the Italian National Institute for Astrophysics (INAF) to design and realize an end-to-end prototype of the Small-Sized Telescope (SST) of the Cherenkov Telescope Array (CTA) in a dual-mirror configuration (2M). The prototype, named ASTRI-Horn, has been operational since 2014 at the INAF observing station located on Mt. Etna (Italy). The ASTRI Project is now building the ASTRI Mini-Array consisting of nine ASTRI-Horn-like telescopes to be installed and operated at the Teide Observatory (Spain). The ASTRI software is aimed at supporting the Assembly Integration and Verification (AIV), and the operations of the ASTRI Mini-Array. The Array Data Acquisition System (ADAS) includes all hardware, software and communication infrastructure required to gather the bulk data of the Cherenkov Cameras and the Intensity Interferometers installed on the telescopes, and make these data available to the Online Observation Quality System (OOQS) for the on-site quick look, and to the Data Processing System (DPS) for the off-site scientific pipeline. This contribution presents the ADAS software architecture according to the use cases and requirement specifications, with particular emphasis on the interfaces with the Back End Electronics (BEE) of the instruments, the array central control, the OOQS, and the DPS.
KEYWORDS: Atmospheric Cherenkov telescopes, Data acquisition, Cameras, Control systems, Telescopes, Interferometry, Data centers, Software development, Computer architecture, Quality systems
The ASTRI Mini-Array is an international collaboration led by the Italian National Institute for Astrophysics. This project aims to construct and operate an array of nine Imaging Atmospheric Cherenkov Telescopes to study gamma-ray sources at very high energy (TeV) and perform stellar intensity interferometry observations. We describe the software architecture and the technologies used to implement the Online Observation Quality System (OOQS) for the ASTRI Mini-Array project. The OOQS aims to execute data quality checks on the data acquired in real-time by the Cherenkov cameras and intensity interferometry instruments, and provides feedback to both the Central Control System and the Operator about abnormal conditions detected. The OOQS can notify other sub-systems, triggering their reaction to promptly correct anomalies. The results from the data quality analyses (e.g. camera plots, histograms, tables, and more) are stored in the Quality Archive for further investigation and they are summarised in reports available to the Operator. Once the OOQS results are stored, the operator can visualize them using the Human Machine Interface. The OOQS is designed to manage the high data rate generated by the instruments (up to 4.5 GB/s) and received from the Array Data Acquisition System through the Kafka service. The data are serialized and deserialized during the transmission using the Avro framework. The Slurm workload scheduler executes the analyses exploiting key features such as parallel analyses and scalability.
The NISP (Near Infrared Spectrometer and Photometer) is one of the two Euclid instruments (see ref [1]). It operates in the near-IR spectral region (950-2020nm) as a photometer and spectrometer. The instrument is composed of: - a cold (135K) optomechanical subsystem consisting of a Silicon carbide structure, an optical assembly, a filter wheel mechanism, a grism wheel mechanism, a calibration unit and a thermal control system - a detection system based on a mosaic of 16 H2RG with their front-end readout electronic. - a warm electronic system (290K) composed of a data processing / detector control unit and of an instrument control unit that interfaces with the spacecraft via a 1553 bus for command and control and via Spacewire links for science data This paper presents: - the final architecture of the flight model instrument and subsystems - the performances and the ground calibration measurement done at NISP level and at Euclid Payload Module level at operational cold temperature.
The Cherenkov Telescope Array (CTA), the next generation ground-based observatory for very high-energy gamma rays, is being built and will be operated by an international consortium. Two arrays will be located in the northern and southern hemispheres. Each telescope array will operate different numbers and types of telescopes. The Italian National Institute for Astrophysics (INAF) is leading the ASTRI (Astrofisica con Specchi a Tecnologia Replicante Italiana) project in the framework of the small size class of telescopes (SST). A first goal of the ASTRI project is the realization of an end-to-end prototype in dual-mirror configuration (SST-2M). The ASTRI camera focal plane is composed of a matrix of silicon photo-multiplier sensors managed by innovative front-end and back-end electronics. The ASTRI SST2M prototype is installed in Italy at the INAF “M.G. Fracastoro” observing station located at Serra La Nave, 1735 m a.s.l. on Mount Etna, Sicily. The ASTRI Data AcQuisition (DAQ) system acquires, packet by packet, the camera data from the back-end electronics. The packets are then stored locally in one raw file as soon as they arrive. During the acquisition, the DAQ system groups the packets by data type (scientific, calibration, engineering) before processing and storing the data in FITS format. All the files are then transferred to the on-site archive. In addition, we implemented a quick-look component the allows the operator to display the camera data during the acquisition. A graphical user interface enables the operator to configure, monitor and control the DAQ software. Furthermore, we implemented the control panel algorithms within the framework of the Alma Common Software, in order to integrate the DAQ software within the ASTRI control software. The ASTRI DAQ system supports the camera AIV activities and operations. We provide the instrument workstation to support the AIV activities in the laboratory, and the camera server on-site. In this paper, we assess the ASTRI DAQ system as it has performed the AIV tasks for the ASTRI SST-2M prototype.
KEYWORDS: Sensors, Data processing, Space operations, Data acquisition, Signal detection, Electronics, Control systems, Interfaces, Software development
In this paper we describe the application software (ASW) of the instrument control unit (ICU) of NISP, the Near-Infrared Spectro-Photometer of the Euclid mission. This software is based on a real-time operating system (RTEMS) and will interface with all the subunits of NISP, as well as the command and data management unit (CDMU) of the spacecraft for telecommand and housekeeping management.
The ASTRI SST-2M telescope is a robotic end-to-end prototype, installed on Mount Etna (Italy) and proposed for the Small Size class of telescopes of the future Cherenkov Telescope Array (CTA). The ASTRI prototype is currently operative and it is undergoing the scientific verification stages. In the next future a first set of nine ASTRI telescopes is foreseen for the early implementation of the CTA southern site. In this contribution we present the general design of the monitoring system for the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) infrastructure of the ASTRI SST-2M prototype. The ASTRI ICT monitoring system is composed by specific custom tools which interface the ICT device, through the Open Platform Communication Unified Architecture (OPC-UA) protocol, to the Alma Common Software (ACS), which is the high-level framework used to operate the ASTRI SST-2M prototype. The main purpose of these tools is to convert the Internet Control Message Protocol (ICMP) and Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP), used in the ICT devices, into the OPC-UA protocol, through the implementation of an appropriate OPC-UA server. This server interacts with an OPC-UA client implemented as ACS components, which are able to provide all the ICT monitoring parameters, through the ACS notification channel and sends alerts to the central console of the ASTRI SST2M telescope prototype. ICT monitoring data are also saved into the ACS Telescope Monitor Communication Data Base (TMCDB), like those of the other telescope subsystems. The same approach has been proposed for the monitoring of the CTA on-site ICT infrastructures.
The ASTRI mini-array, composed of nine small-size dual mirror (SST-2M) telescopes, has been proposed to be installed at the southern site of the Cherenkov Telescope Array (CTA), as a set of preproduction units of the CTA observatory. The ASTRI mini-array is a collaborative and international effort carried out by Italy, Brazil and South Africa and led by the Italian National Institute of Astrophysics, INAF. We present the main features of the current implementation of the Mini-Array Software System (MASS) now in use for the activities of the ASTRI SST-2M telescope prototype located at the INAF observing station on Mt. Etna, Italy and the characteristics that make it a prototype for the CTA control software system. CTA Data Management (CTADATA) and CTA Array Control and Data Acquisition (CTA-ACTL) requirements and guidelines as well as the ASTRI use cases were considered in the MASS design, most of its features are derived from the Atacama Large Millimeter/sub-millimeter Array Control software. The MASS will provide a set of tools to manage all onsite operations of the ASTRI mini-array in order to perform the observations specified in the short term schedule (including monitoring and controlling all the hardware components of each telescope and calibration device), to analyze the acquired data online and to store/retrieve all the data products to/from the onsite repository.
In the framework of the international Cherenkov Telescope Array (CTA) observatory, the Italian National Institute for Astrophysics (INAF) has developed a dual mirror, small sized, telescope prototype (ASTRI SST-2M), installed in Italy at the INAF observing station located at Serra La Nave, Mt. Etna. The ASTRI SST-2M prototype is the basis of the ASTRI telescopes that will form the mini-array proposed to be installed at the CTA southern site during its preproduction phase. This contribution presents the solutions implemented to realize the monitoring system for the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) infrastructure of the ASTRI SST-2M prototype. The ASTRI ICT monitoring system has been implemented by integrating traditional tools used in computer centers, with specific custom tools which interface via Open Platform Communication Unified Architecture (OPC UA) to the Alma Common Software (ACS) that is used to operate the ASTRI SST-2M prototype. The traditional monitoring tools are based on Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP) and commercial solutions and features embedded in the devices themselves. They generate alerts by email and SMS. The specific custom tools convert the SNMP protocol into the OPC UA protocol and implement an OPC UA server. The server interacts with an OPC UA client implemented in an ACS component that, through the ACS Notification Channel, sends monitor data and alerts to the central console of the ASTRI SST-2M prototype. The same approach has been proposed also for the monitoring of the CTA onsite ICT infrastructures.
KEYWORDS: Atmospheric Cherenkov telescopes, Telescopes, Printed circuit board testing, Control systems, Control systems, Switches, Data acquisition, Cameras, Local area networks, Computing systems, Data archive systems
The Cherenkov Telescope Array (CTA) represents the next generation of ground-based observatories for very high energy gamma-ray astronomy. The CTA will consist of two arrays at two different sites, one in the northern and one in the southern hemisphere. The current CTA design foresees, in the southern site, the installation of many tens of imaging atmospheric Cherenkov telescopes of three different classes, namely large, medium and small, so defined in relation to their mirror area; the northern hemisphere array would consist of few tens of the two larger telescope types. The Italian National Institute for Astrophysics (INAF) is developing the Cherenkov Small Size Telescope ASTRI SST- 2M end-to-end prototype telescope within the framework of the International Cherenkov Telescope Array (CTA) project. The ASTRI prototype has been installed at the INAF observing station located in Serra La Nave on Mt. Etna, Italy. Furthermore a mini-array, composed of nine of ASTRI telescopes, has been proposed to be installed at the Southern CTA site. Among the several different infrastructures belonging the ASTRI project, the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) equipment is dedicated to operations of computing and data storage, as well as the control of the entire telescope, and it is designed to achieve the maximum efficiency for all performance requirements. Thus a complete and stand-alone computer centre has been designed and implemented. The goal is to obtain optimal ICT equipment, with an adequate level of redundancy, that might be scaled up for the ASTRI mini-array, taking into account the necessary control, monitor and alarm system requirements. In this contribution we present the ICT equipment currently installed at the Serra La Nave observing station where the ASTRI SST-2M prototype will be operated. The computer centre and the control room are described with particular emphasis on the Local Area Network scheme, the computing and data storage system, and the telescope control and monitoring.
KEYWORDS: Data storage, Near infrared, Computing systems, Data processing, Sensors, Data archive systems, Data modeling, Control systems, Databases, Data conversion
The NISP instrument on board the Euclid ESA mission will be developed and tested at different levels of integration
using various test equipment which shall be designed and procured through a collaborative and coordinated effort. The
NISP Instrument Workstation (NI-IWS) will be part of the EGSE configuration that will support the NISP AIV/AIT
activities from the NISP Warm Electronics level up to the launch of Euclid. One workstation is required for the NISP
EQM/AVM, and a second one for the NISP FM. Each workstation will follow the respective NISP model after delivery
to ESA for Payload and Satellite AIV/AIT and launch. At these levels the NI-IWS shall be configured as part of the
Payload EGSE, the System EGSE, and the Launch EGSE, respectively. After launch, the NI-IWS will be also re-used in
the Euclid Ground Segment in order to support the Commissioning and Performance Verification (CPV) phase, and for
troubleshooting purposes during the operational phase.
The NI-IWS is mainly aimed at the local storage in a suitable format of the NISP instrument data and metadata, at local
retrieval, processing and display of the stored data for on-line instrument assessment, and at the remote retrieval of the
stored data for off-line analysis on other computers.
We describe the design of the IWS software that will create a suitable interface to the external systems in each of the
various configurations envisaged at the different levels, and provide the capabilities required to monitor and verify the
instrument functionalities and performance throughout all phases of the NISP lifetime.
KEYWORDS: Space telescopes, Space operations, Telescopes, Space operations, Local area networks, Databases, Control systems, Fermium, Frequency modulation, Device simulation, Data modeling
The Near Infrared Spectro-Photometer (NISP) on board the Euclid ESA mission will be developed and tested at various
levels of integration by using various test equipment. The Electrical Ground Support Equipment (EGSE) shall be
required to support the assembly, integration, verification and testing (AIV/AIT) and calibration activities at instrument
level before delivery to ESA, and at satellite level, when the NISP instrument is mounted on the spacecraft. In the case of
the Euclid mission this EGSE will be provided by ESA to NISP team, in the HW/SW framework called "CCS Lite", with
a possible first usage already during the Warm Electronics (WE) AIV/AIT activities. In this paper we discuss how we
will customize that "CCS Lite" as required to support both the WE and Instrument test activities. This customization will
primarily involve building the NISP Mission Information Base (the CCS MIB tables) by gathering the relevant data from
the instrument sub-units and validating these inputs through specific tools. Secondarily, it will imply developing a
suitable set of test sequences, by using uTOPE (an extension to the TCL scripting language, included in the CCS
framework), in order to implement the foreseen test procedures. In addition and in parallel, custom interfaces shall be set
up between the CCS and the NI-IWS (the NISP Instrument Workstation, which will be in use at any level starting from
the WE activities), and also between the CCS and the TCC (the Telescope Control and command Computer, to be only
and specifically used during the instrument level tests).
KEYWORDS: Data processing, Sensors, Near infrared, Spectrographs, Photometry, Data processing, Signal detection, Detection and tracking algorithms, Spectroscopy, Space operations, Image compression
The Near Infrared Spectrograph and Photometer (NISP) is one of the two instruments on board the EUCLID mission now under implementation phase; VIS, the Visible Imager is the second instrument working on the same shared optical beam. The NISP focal plane is based on a detector mosaic deploying 16x, 2048x2048 pixels^2 HAWAII-II HgCdTe detectors, now in advanced delivery phase from Teledyne Imaging Scientific (TIS), and will provide NIR imaging in three bands (Y, J, H) plus slit-less spectroscopy in the range 0.9÷2.0 micron. All the NISP observational modes will be supported by different parametrization of the classic multi-accumulation IR detector readout mode covering the specific needs for spectroscopic, photometric and calibration exposures. Due to the large number of deployed detectors and to the limited satellite telemetry available to ground, a consistent part of the data processing, conventionally performed off-line, will be accomplished on board, in parallel with the flow of data acquisitions. This has led to the development of a specific on-board, HW/SW, data processing pipeline, and to the design of computationally performing control electronics, suited to cope with the time constraints of the NISP acquisition sequences during the sky survey. In this paper we present the architecture of the NISP on-board processing system, directly interfaced to the SIDECAR ASICs system managing the detector focal plane, and the implementation of the on-board pipe-line allowing all the basic operations of input frame averaging, final frame interpolation and data-volume compression before ground down-link.
The Euclid mission objective is to understand why the expansion of the Universe is accelerating through by mapping the geometry of the dark Universe
by investigating the distance-redshift relationship and tracing the evolution of cosmic structures. The Euclid project is part of ESA's Cosmic Vision
program with its launch planned for 2020 (ref [1]).
The NISP (Near Infrared Spectrometer and Photometer) is one of the two Euclid instruments and is operating in the near-IR spectral region (900-
2000nm) as a photometer and spectrometer. The instrument is composed of:
- a cold (135K) optomechanical subsystem consisting of a Silicon carbide structure, an optical assembly (corrector and camera lens), a filter wheel
mechanism, a grism wheel mechanism, a calibration unit and a thermal control system
- a detection subsystem based on a mosaic of 16 HAWAII2RG cooled to 95K with their front-end readout electronic cooled to 140K, integrated on a
mechanical focal plane structure made with molybdenum and aluminum. The detection subsystem is mounted on the optomechanical subsystem
structure
- a warm electronic subsystem (280K) composed of a data processing / detector control unit and of an instrument control unit that interfaces with the
spacecraft via a 1553 bus for command and control and via Spacewire links for science data
This presentation describes the architecture of the instrument at the end of the phase C (Detailed Design Review), the expected performance, the
technological key challenges and preliminary test results obtained for different NISP subsystem breadboards and for the NISP Structural and Thermal
model (STM).
KEYWORDS: Control systems, Software development, Space operations, Data processing, Sensors, Control systems, Data acquisition, Field programmable gate arrays, Technetium, Electronics, Calibration
In this paper we describe the detailed design of the application software (ASW) of the instrument control unit (ICU) of
NISP, the Near-Infrared Spectro-Photometer of the Euclid mission. This software is based on a real-time operating
system (RTEMS) and will interface with all the subunits of NISP, as well as the command and data management unit
(CDMU) of the spacecraft for telecommand and housekeeping management. We briefly review the main requirements
driving the design and the architecture of the software that is approaching the Critical Design Review level. The
interaction with the data processing unit (DPU), which is the intelligent subunit controlling the detector system, is
described in detail, as well as the concept for the implementation of the failure detection, isolation and recovery (FDIR)
algorithms. The first version of the software is under development on a Breadboard model produced by
AIRBUS/CRISA. We describe the results of the tests and the main performances and budgets.
The Italian National Institute for Astrophysics (INAF) is leading the Astrofisica con Specchi a Tecnologia Replicante Italiana (ASTRI) project whose main purpose is the realization of small size telescopes (SST) for the Cherenkov Telescope Array (CTA). The first goal of the ASTRI project has been the development and operation of an innovative end-to-end telescope prototype using a dual-mirror optical configuration (SST-2M) equipped with a camera based on silicon photo-multipliers and very fast read-out electronics. The ASTRI SST-2M prototype has been installed in Italy at the INAF “M.G. Fracastoro” Astronomical Station located at Serra La Nave, on Mount Etna, Sicily. This prototype will be used to test several mechanical, optical, control hardware and software solutions which will be used in the ASTRI mini-array, comprising nine telescopes proposed to be placed at the CTA southern site. The ASTRI mini-array is a collaborative and international effort led by INAF and carried out by Italy, Brazil and South-Africa. We present here the use cases, through UML (Unified Modeling Language) diagrams and text details, that describe the functional requirements of the software that will manage the ASTRI SST-2M prototype, and the lessons learned thanks to these activities. We intend to adopt the same approach for the Mini Array Software System that will manage the ASTRI miniarray operations. Use cases are of importance for the whole software life cycle; in particular they provide valuable support to the validation and verification activities. Following the iterative development approach, which breaks down the software development into smaller chunks, we have analysed the requirements, developed, and then tested the code in repeated cycles. The use case technique allowed us to formalize the problem through user stories that describe how the user procedurally interacts with the software system. Through the use cases we improved the communication among team members, fostered common agreement about system requirements, defined the normal and alternative course of events, understood better the business process, and defined the system test to ensure that the delivered software works properly. We present a summary of the ASTRI SST-2M prototype use cases, and how the lessons learned can be exploited for the ASTRI mini-array proposed for the CTA Observatory.
The Italian National Institute for Astrophysics (INAF) is leading the ASTRI project within the ambitious Cherenkov Telescope Array (CTA), the next generation of ground-based observatories for very high energy gamma-ray astronomy. In the framework of the small sized telescopes (SST), a first goal of the ASTRI project is the realization of an end-to-end prototype in dual-mirror configuration (2M) with the camera composed of a matrix of Silicon photo-multiplier sensors managed by innovative front-end and back-end electronics. The prototype, named ASTRI SST-2M, is installed in Italy at the INAF “M.G. Fracastoro” observing station located at Serra La Nave, 1735 m a.s.l. on Mount Etna, Sicily. As a second step, the ASTRI project is focused on the implementation of a mini-array composed at least of nine ASTRI telescopes and proposed to be placed at the CTA southern site. This paper outlines the design of the camera server software that will be installed on the ASTRI mini-array. The software is based on the version installed on the ASTRI SST-2M prototype operating in a single telescope configuration. The migration from single telescope to mini-array context has required additional interfaces in order to guarantee high interoperability with other software and hardware components. In the mini-array configuration each camera communicates with its own camera server via a dedicated high rate data link. The primary goal of the camera server is to acquire the bulk data, packet by packet, without any data loss and to timestamp each packet very precisely. During array operation, the camera server receives from the SoftWare Array Trigger (SWAT) the list of science events that participate in stereo triggered events. These science events, and all others that are flagged either by the camera as interleaved calibration or by the camera server as possible single-muon events, are sent to the Array DAQ. All remaining science events will be discarded. A suitable buffer is provided to perform this processing on all the incoming event packets. The camera server provides interfaces to the array control software to allow for monitoring and control during array operations. In this paper we present the design of the camera server software with particular emphasis on the external interfaces. In addition, we report the results of the first integration activities and performance tests.
The Euclid mission objective is to understand why the expansion of the Universe is accelerating by mapping the geometry of the dark Universe by
investigating the distance-redshift relationship and tracing the evolution of cosmic structures. The Euclid project is part of ESA's Cosmic Vision
program with its launch planned for 2020.
The NISP (Near Infrared Spectro-Photometer) is one of the two Euclid instruments and is operating in the near-IR spectral region (0.9-2μm) as a
photometer and spectrometer. The instrument is composed of:
- a cold (135K) optomechanical subsystem consisting of a SiC structure, an optical assembly (corrector and camera lens), a filter wheel mechanism, a
grism wheel mechanism, a calibration unit and a thermal control system
- a detection subsystem based on a mosaic of 16 Teledyne HAWAII2RG cooled to 95K with their front-end readout electronic cooled to 140K,
integrated on a mechanical focal plane structure made with Molybdenum and Aluminum. The detection subsystem is mounted on the optomechanical
subsystem structure
- a warm electronic subsystem (280K) composed of a data processing / detector control unit and of an instrument control unit that interfaces with the
spacecraft via a 1553 bus for command and control and via Spacewire links for science data
This presentation describes the architecture of the instrument at the end of the phase B (Preliminary Design Review), the expected performance, the
technological key challenges and preliminary test results obtained on a detection system demonstration model.
After the development of a BoGEMMS (Bologna Geant4 Multi-Mission Simulator) template for the background study of X-ray telescopes, a new extension is built for the simulation of a Gamma-ray space mission (e.g. AGILE, Fermi), conceived to work as a common, multi-purpose framework for the present and future electron tracking gamma-ray space telescopes. The Gamma-ray extension involves the Geant4 mass model, the physics list and, more important, the production and treatment of the simulation output. From the user point of view, the simulation set-up follows a tree structure, with the main level being the selection of the simulation framework (the general, X-ray or gamma-ray application) and the secondary levels being the detailed configuration of the geometry and the output format. The BoGEMMS application to Gamma-ray missions has been used to evaluate the instrument performances of a new generation of Gamma-ray telescopes (e.g. Gamma-Light), and a full simulation of the AGILE mission is currently under construction, to scientifically validate and calibrate the simulator with real in-space data sets. A complete description of the BoGEMMS Gamma-ray framework is presented here, with an overview of the achieved results for the potential application to present and future experiments (e.g., GAMMA-400 and Gamma-Light). The evaluation of the photon conversion efficiency to beta particle pairs and the comparison to tabulated data allows the preliminary physical validation of the overall architecture. The Gamma-ray module application for the study of the Gamma-Light instrument performances is reported as reference test case.
KEYWORDS: Cameras, Data acquisition, Data storage, Atmospheric Cherenkov telescopes, Prototyping, Telescopes, Computer architecture, Software development, Data archive systems, Data conversion
ASTRI (Astrofisica con Specchi a Tecnologia Replicante Italiana) is a Flagship Project financed by the Italian Ministry of Education, University and Research, and led by INAF, the Italian National Institute of Astrophysics. Within this framework, INAF is currently developing an end‐to‐end prototype of a Small Size dual‐mirror Telescope. In a second phase the ASTRI project foresees the installation of the first elements of the array at CTA southern site, a mini-array of 7 telescopes. The ASTRI Camera DAQ Software is aimed at the Camera data acquisition, storage and display during Camera development as well as during commissioning and operations on the ASTRI SST-2M telescope prototype that will operate at the INAF observing station located at Serra La Nave on the Mount Etna (Sicily). The Camera DAQ configuration and operations will be sequenced either through local operator commands or through remote commands received from the Instrument Controller System that commands and controls the Camera. The Camera DAQ software will acquire data packets through a direct one-way socket connection with the Camera Back End Electronics. In near real time, the data will be stored in both raw and FITS format. The DAQ Quick Look component will allow the operator to display in near real time the Camera data packets. We are developing the DAQ software adopting the iterative and incremental model in order to maximize the software reuse and to implement a system which is easily adaptable to changes. This contribution presents the Camera DAQ Software architecture with particular emphasis on its potential reuse for the ASTRI/CTA mini-array.
KEYWORDS: Atmospheric Cherenkov telescopes, Telescopes, Data acquisition, Prototyping, Cameras, Observatories, Physics, Data communications, Monte Carlo methods, Data storage
The Cherenkov Telescope Array (CTA) observatory will be one of the biggest ground-based very-high-energy (VHE) γ-
ray observatory. CTA will achieve a factor of 10 improvement in sensitivity from some tens of GeV to beyond 100 TeV
with respect to existing telescopes.
The CTA observatory will be capable of issuing alerts on variable and transient sources to maximize the scientific return.
To capture these phenomena during their evolution and for effective communication to the astrophysical community,
speed is crucial. This requires a system with a reliable automated trigger that can issue alerts immediately upon detection
of γ-ray flares. This will be accomplished by means of a Real-Time Analysis (RTA) pipeline, a key system of the CTA
observatory. The latency and sensitivity requirements of the alarm system impose a challenge because of the anticipated
large data rate, between 0.5 and 8 GB/s. As a consequence, substantial efforts toward the optimization of highthroughput
computing service are envisioned.
For these reasons our working group has started the development of a prototype of the Real-Time Analysis pipeline. The
main goals of this prototype are to test: (i) a set of frameworks and design patterns useful for the inter-process
communication between software processes running on memory; (ii) the sustainability of the foreseen CTA data rate in
terms of data throughput with different hardware (e.g. accelerators) and software configurations, (iii) the reuse of nonreal-
time algorithms or how much we need to simplify algorithms to be compliant with CTA requirements, (iv) interface
issues between the different CTA systems. In this work we focus on goals (i) and (ii).
KEYWORDS: Optical proximity correction, Atmospheric Cherenkov telescopes, Telescopes, Prototyping, Printed circuit board testing, Control systems, OLE for process control, Standards development, Computing systems, Internet
ASTRI is an Italian flagship project whose first goal is the realization of an end-to-end telescope prototype, named
ASTRI SST-2M, for the Cherenkov Telescope Array (CTA). The prototype will be installed in Italy during Fall 2014. A
second goal will be the realization of the ASTRI/CTA mini-array which will be composed of seven SST-2M telescopes
placed at the CTA Southern Site. The Information and Communication Technology (ICT) equipment necessary to drive
the infrastructure for the ASTRI SST-2M prototype is being designed as a complete and stand-alone computer center.
The design goal is to obtain basic ICT equipment that might be scaled, with a low level of redundancy, for the
ASTRI/CTA mini-array, taking into account the necessary control, monitor and alarm system requirements. The ICT
equipment envisaged at the Serra La Nave observing station in Italy, where the ASTRI SST-2M telescope prototype will
operate, includes computers, servers and workstations, network devices, an uninterruptable power supply system, and air
conditioning systems. Suitable hardware and software tools will allow the parameters related to the behavior and health
of each item of equipment to be controlled and monitored. This paper presents the proposed architecture and technical
solutions that integrate the ICT equipment in the framework of the Observatory Control System package of the
ASTRI/CTA Mini- Array Software System, MASS, to allow their local and remote control and monitoring. An end-toend
test case using an Internet Protocol thermometer is reported in detail.
KEYWORDS: Telescopes, Control systems, Atmospheric Cherenkov telescopes, Data acquisition, Cameras, Data archive systems, Calibration, Prototyping, Imaging systems, Data storage
ASTRI (Astrofisica con Specchi a Tecnologia Replicante Italiana) is a Flagship Project financed by the Italian Ministry of Education, University and Research, and led by INAF, the Italian National Institute of Astrophysics. The main goals of the ASTRI project are the realization of an end-to-end prototype of a Small Size Telescope (SST) for the Cherenkov Telescope Array (CTA) in a dual- mirror configuration (SST-2M) and, subsequently, of a mini-array comprising seven SST-2M telescopes. The mini-array will be placed at the final CTA Southern Site, which will be part of the CTA seed array, around which the whole CTA observatory will be developed. The Mini-Array Software System (MASS) will provide a comprehensive set of tools to prepare an observing proposal, to perform the observations specified therein (monitoring and controlling all the hardware components of each telescope), to analyze the acquired data online and to store/retrieve all the data products to/from the archive. Here we present the main features of the MASS and its first version, to be tested on the ASTRI SST-2M prototype that will be installed at the INAF observing station located at Serra La Nave on Mount Etna in Sicily.
P. Cattaneo, A. Rappoldi, A. Argan, B. Buonomo, A. Bulgarelli, A. Chen, F. D'Ammando, L. Foggetta, F. Fuschino, M. Galli, F. Gianotti, A. Giuliani, F. Longo, M. Marisaldi, G. Mazzitelli, A. Pellizzoni, M. Prest, G. Pucella, L. Quintieri, M. Tavani, M. Trifoglio, A. Trois, P. Valente, E. Vallazza, S. Vercellone, G. Barbiellini, P. Caraveo, E. Costa, G. De Paris, E. Del Monte, G. Di Cocco, I. Donnarumma, Y. Evangelista, A. Ferrari, M. Feroci, M. Fiorini, M. Giusti, C. Labanti, I. Lapshov, F. Lazzarotto, P. Lipari, F. Lucarelli, S. Mereghetti, E. Morelli, E. Moretti, A. Morselli, L. Pacciani, F. Perotti, G. Piano, P. Picozza, M. Pilia, M. Rapisarda, A. Rubini, S. Sabatini, P. Soffitta, E. Striani, V. Vittorini, D. Zanello, S. Colafrancesco, P. Giommi, C. Pittori, P. Santolamazza, F. Verrecchia, L. Salotti
KEYWORDS: Monte Carlo methods, Calibration, Sensors, Target detection, Spectroscopy, Silicon, Optical simulations, Magnetic sensors, Photonics systems, Point spread functions
At the core of the AGILE scientific instrument, designed to operate on a satellite, there is the Gamma Ray
Imaging Detector (GRID) consisting of a Silicon Tracker (ST), a Cesium Iodide Mini-Calorimeter and an
Anti-Coincidence system of plastic scintillator bars. The ST needs an on-ground calibration with a γ-ray beam to
validate the simulation used to calculate the energy response function and the effective area versus the energy and
the direction of the γ rays. A tagged γ-ray beam line was designed at the Beam Test Facility (BTF) of the INFN
Laboratori Nazionali of Frascati (LNF), based on an electron beam generating γ rays through bremsstrahlung in
a position-sensitive target. The γ-ray energy is deduced by the difference with the post-bremsstrahlung electron
energy1-.2 The electron energy is measured by a spectrometer consisting of a dipole magnet and an array of
position sensitive silicon strip detectors, the Photon Tagging System (PTS). The use of the combined BTF-PTS
system as tagged photon beam requires understanding the efficiency of γ-ray tagging, the probability of fake
tagging, the energy resolution and the relation of the PTS hit position versus the γ-ray energy. This paper
describes this study comparing data taken during the AGILE calibration occurred in 2005 with simulation.
The background minimization is a science-driven necessity in order to reach deep sensitivity levels in the hard
X-ray band, one of the key scientific requirements for hard X-ray telescopes (e.g. NuSTAR, ASTRO-H). It
requires a careful modeling of the radiation environment and new concepts of shielding systems. We exploit
the Bologna Geant4 Multi-Mission Simulator (BoGEMMS) features to evaluate the impact of the Low Earth
Orbit (LEO) radiation environment on the prompt background level for a hybrid Si/CdTe soft and hard X-ray
detection assembly and a combined active and passive shielding system. For each class of particles, the spectral
distribution of the background flux is simulated, exploring the effect of different materials (plastic vs inorganic
active scintillator) and configurations (passive absorbers enclosing or surrounded by the active shielding) on
the background count rate. While protons are efficiently removed by the active shielding, an external passive
shielding causes the albedo electrons and positrons to be the primary source of background. Albedo neutrons
are instead weakly interactive with the active shielding, and they cause an intense background level below 10
keV via elastic scattering. The best shielding configuration in terms of background and active shielding count
rates is given by an inorganic scintillator placed inside the passive layers, with the addition of passive material
to absorb the intense fluorescence lines of the active shielding and avoid escape peaks on the CdTe detector.
KEYWORDS: Space operations, Calibration, System on a chip, Sensors, Control systems, Satellites, Mathematical modeling, Visible radiation, Seaborgium, Data processing
Euclid is the future ESA mission, mainly devoted to Cosmology. Like WMAP and Planck, it is a
survey mission, to be launched in 2019 and injected in orbit far away from the Earth, for a nominal
lifetime of 7 years. Euclid has two instruments on-board, the Visible Imager (VIS) and the Near-
Infrared Spectro-Photometer (NISP). The NISP instrument includes cryogenic mechanisms, active
thermal control, high-performance Data Processing Unit and requires periodic in-flight calibrations
and instrument parameters monitoring. To fully exploit the capability of the NISP, a careful control
of systematic effects is required. From previous experiments, we have built the concept of an
integrated instrument development and verification approach, where the scientific, instrument and
ground-segment expertise have strong interactions from the early phases of the project. In particular,
we discuss the strong integration of test and calibration activities with the Ground Segment, starting
from early pre-launch verification activities. We want to report here the expertise acquired by the
Euclid team in previous missions, only citing the literature for detailed reference, and indicate how it
is applied in the Euclid mission framework.
KEYWORDS: Particles, Physics, Monte Carlo methods, Optical filters, Space operations, Space telescopes, Computer architecture, 3D modeling, Data modeling, Sensors
BoGEMMS, (Bologna Geant4 Multi-Mission Simulator) is a software project for fast simulation of payload on board of
scientific satellites for prompt background evaluation that has been developed at the INAF/IASF Bologna. By exploiting
the Geant4 set of libraries, BoGEMMS allows to interactively set the geometrical and physical parameters (e.g. physics
list, materials and thicknesses), recording the interactions (e.g. energy deposit, position, interacting particle) in NASA
FITS and CERNroot format output files and filtering the output as a real observation in space, to finally produce the
background detected count rate and spectra. Four different types of output can be produced by the BoGEMMS capturing
different aspects of the interactions. The simulator can also run in parallel jobs and store the results in a centralized
server via xrootd protocol. The BoGEMMS is a multi-mission tool, generally designed to be applied to any high-energy
mission for which the shielding and instruments performances analysis is required.
KEYWORDS: Calibration, Sensors, Interfaces, Data archive systems, Space operations, Satellites, Device simulation, Control systems, Data storage, Data acquisition
The Near Infrared Spectro-Photometer (NISP) on board the Euclid ESA mission will be developed and tested at various
levels of integration using various test equipment which shall be designed and procured through a collaborative and
coordinated effort.
In this paper we describe the Electrical Ground Support Equipment (EGSE) which shall be required to support the
assembly, integration, verification and testing (AIV/AIT) and calibration activities at instrument level before delivery to
ESA, and at satellite level, when the NISP instrument is mounted on the spacecraft.
We present the EGSE conceptual design as defined in order to be compliant with the AIV/AIT and calibration
requirements. The proposed concept is aimed at maximizing the re-use in the EGSE configuration of the Test Equipment
developed for subsystem level activities, as well as, at allowing a smooth transition from instrument level to satellite
level, and, possibly, at Ground Segment level.
This paper mainly reports the technical status at the end of the Definition phase and it is presented on behalf of the
Euclid Consortium.
KEYWORDS: Sensors, Computer simulations, Spectroscopy, Nondestructive evaluation, Signal processing, Data modeling, Image compression, Photometry, Data processing, Data compression
NISP is the near IR spectrophotometer instrument part of the Cosmic Vision Euclid mission. In this paper we describe an
end-to-end simulation scheme developed in the framework of the NISP design study to cover the expected focal-plane
on-board pre-processing operations. Non-destructive detector readouts are simulated for a number of different readout
strategies, taking into account scientific and calibration observations; resulting frames are passed through a series of
steps emulating the foreseen on-board pipeline, then compressed to give the final result. In order to verify final frame
quality and resulting computational and memory load, we tested this architecture on a number of hardware platforms
similar to those possible for the final NISP computing unit. Here we give the results of the latest tests. This paper mainly
reports the technical status at the end of the Definition Phase and it is presented on behalf of the Euclid Consortium.
The Near Infrared Spectrograph and Photometer (NISP) is one of the instruments on board the EUCLID mission.
The focal plane array (FPA) consists of 16 HAWAII-2RG HgCdTe detectors from Teledyne Imaging Scientific
(TIS), for NIR imaging in three bands (Y, J, H) and slitless spectroscopy in the range 0.9−2µm. Low total noise
measurements (i.e. total noise < 8 electrons) are achieved by operating the detectors in multiple non-destructive
readout mode for the implementation of both the Fowler and Up-The-Ramp (UTR) sampling, which also enables
the detection and removal of cosmic ray events. The large area of the NISP FPA and the limited satellite telemetry
available impose to perform the required data processing on board, during the observations. This requires a well
optimized on-board data processing pipeline, and high-performance control electronics, suited to cope with the
time constraints of the NISP acquisition sequences. This paper describes the architecture of the NISP on-board
electronics, which take charge of several tasks, including the driving of each individual HAWAII-2RG detectors
through their SIDECAR ASICs, the data processing, inclusive of compression and storage, and the instrument
control tasks. We describe the implementation of the processing power needed for the demanding on-board data
reduction. We also describe the basic operational modes that will be managed by the system during the mission,
along with data flow and the Telemetry/TeleCommands flow. This paper reports the NISP on-board electronics
architecture status at the end of the Phase B1, and it is presented on behalf of the Euclid Consortium.
The Euclid mission objective is to map the geometry of the dark Universe by investigating the distance-redshift
relationship and the evolution of cosmic structures. The NISP (Near Infrared Spectro-Photometer) is one of the two
Euclid instruments operating in the near-IR spectral region (0.9-2μm). The instrument is composed of:
- a cold (140K) optomechanical subsystem constituted by a SiC structure, an optical assembly, a filter wheel
mechanism, a grism wheel mechanism, a calibration unit and a thermal control
- a detection subsystem based on a mosaic of 16 Teledyne HAWAII2RG 2.4μm. The detection subsystem is
mounted on the optomechanical subsystem structure
- a warm electronic subsystem (280K) composed of a data processing / detector control unit and of an
instrument control unit.
This presentation will describe the architecture of the instrument, the expected performance and the technological key
challenges. This paper is presented on behalf of the Euclid Consortium.
In this paper we describe the thermal architecture of the Near Infrared Spectro-Photometer (NISP) on board the Euclid
ESA mission.
The instrument thermal design is based on the combination of two passive radiators coupled to cold space that, exploiting
the beneficial conditions of the L2 thermal environment, provide the temperature references for the main sub-systems.
One radiator serves as a 135K heat sink for the opto-mechanical structure and for the front-end cold electronics, while
working as an interception stage for the conductive parasitic heat leaks through struts and harness. The second, colder,
radiator provides a 95K reference for the instrument detectors. The thermal configuration has to ensure the units optimal
operating temperature needed to maximize instrument performance, adopting solutions consistent with the mechanical
specifications. At the same time the design has to be compliant with the stringent requirements on thermal stability of the
optical and detector units. The periodical perturbation of filter and grism wheel mechanisms together with orbital
variations and active loads instabilities make the temperature control one of the most critical issues of the whole design.
We report here the general thermal architecture at the end of the Definition Phase, together with the first analysis results
and preliminary performance predictions in terms of steady state and transient behavior. This paper is presented on
behalf of the Euclid Consortium.
KEYWORDS: Monte Carlo methods, Point spread functions, Dispersion, Calibration, Matrices, Space telescopes, Telescopes, Sensors, Photon transport, Particles
AGILE is a γ/X-ray telescope which has been in orbit since 23 April 2007. The
γ-ray detector, AGILE-GRID,
has observed Galactic and extragalactic sources, many of which were collected in the first AGILE Catalog.
We present the calibration of the AGILE-GRID using in-flight data and updated Monte Carlo simulations,
producing response matrices for the effective area, energy dispersion, and point spread dispersion as a function
of pointing direction in instrument coordinates and energy.
We performed Monte Carlo simulations in GEANT3 at different
γ-ray photon energies and incident angles,
using Kalman filter-based photon reconstruction and on-board and on-ground filters. Long integrations of in-flight observations of the Vela, Crab and Geminga sources in broad and narrow energy bands were used to validate
KEYWORDS: Calibration, Data archive systems, Interfaces, Cameras, Staring arrays, Device simulation, Near infrared, Collimators, Data acquisition, Control systems
Euclid is a high-precision survey mission to map the geometry of the Dark Universe. The Euclid Mission concept
presented in the Assessment Phase Study Report1 was selected by ESA on February 2010 to undergo a competitive
Definition Phase. Euclid is a candidate for launch in the first slice of the Cosmic Vision Plan (M1/M2), with a possible
launch date of 2018. In this paper we refer to the instrument baseline configuration identified in the Assessment Phase. It
consisted of a Korsch telescope with a primary mirror of 1.2 m diameter and a focal plane hosting 3 scientific
instruments, each with a field of view of 0.5 deg2: (1) E-VIS: a CCD based optical imaging channel, (2) E-NIP: a NIR
imaging photometry channel, and (3) E-NIS: a NIR slitless spectral channel. We present the conceptual design developed
in the Assessment Phase study for the Ground Support Equipment required to support the assembly, integration and
verification operations at instrument level for the E-NIS baseline configuration, with particular regards to the scientific
and calibration activities.
The Euclid Near-Infrared Spectrometer (E-NIS) Instrument was conceived as the spectroscopic probe on-board the ESA
Dark Energy Mission Euclid. Together with the Euclid Imaging Channel (EIC) in its Visible (VIS) and Near Infrared
(NIP) declinations, NIS formed part of the Euclid Mission Concept derived in assessment phase and submitted to the
Cosmic Vision Down-selection process from which emerged selected and with extremely high ranking. The Definition
phase, started a few months ago, is currently examining a substantial re-arrangement of the payload configuration due to
technical and programmatic aspects. This paper presents the general lines of the assessment phase payload concept on
which the positive down-selection judgments have been based.
AGILE is an ASI (Italian Space Agency) Small Scientific Mission dedicated to high-energy astrophysics which was launched on April 23 2007 from Satish Dawan Space Centre (India) on a PSLV-C8 rocket. The AGILE Payload is composed of three instruments: a Tungsten-Silicon Tracker designed to detect and image photons in the 30 MeV-50 GeV energy band, an X-ray imager called SuperAGILE that works in the 18-60 keV energy band, and a Minicalorimeter that detects gamma-rays or particle energy deposits between 300~keV and 200~MeV. The instrument is surrounded by an anti-coincidence (AC) system.
We have developed a set of Quick Look software tools in the framework of the Test Equipment (TE) and the Electrical Ground Support Equipment (EGSE. This s/w is required in order to support all the assembly, integration and verification (AIV) activities to be carried out for the AGILE mission, from data handling unit level to payload integrated level, calibration campaign, launch campaign and in-orbit commissioning.
These software tools have enabled us to test the engineering performance and to perform a health check of the Payload during the various phases. We have used an incremental development approach and a common framework to rapidly adapt our software to the different requirements of the various phases.
AGILE is an ASI (Italian Space Agency) Small Space Mission for high energy astrophysics in the range 30 MeV - 50
GeV successfully launched on 23 April 2007 and currently fully operative. The on-ground Gamma Ray calibration of the
Payload have been carried out 18 months before launch at the Beam Test Facility - INFN LNF (Roma) using a
complement of mechanical and electrical equipment and computer systems specifically developed to that purpose. In
particular, a specific software has been designed and developed to automate the operations of the Mechanical Ground
Support Equipment (MGSE) which positions the Payload in front of the Beam. In this paper the architecture and the
performance of the software will be described and discussed.
KEYWORDS: Satellites, Visibility, Data centers, Space operations, Sensors, High energy astrophysics, Parallel computing, Data communications, Virtual colonoscopy, Data acquisition
AGILE is an Italian Space Agency (ASI) satellite dedicated to high energy Astrophysics. It was launched successfully on 23 April 2007, and it has been operated by the AGILE Ground Segment, consisting of the Ground Station located in Malindi (Kenia), the Mission Operations Centre (MOC) and the AGILE Data Centre (ADC) established in Italy, at Telespazio in Fucino and at the ASI Science Data Centre (ASDC) in Frascati respectively. Due to the low equatorial orbit at ~ 530 Km. with inclination angle of ~ 2.5°, the satellite passes over the Ground Station every ~ 100'. During the visibility period of . ~ 12', the Telemetry (TM) is down linked through two separated virtual channels, VC0 and VC1. The former is devoted to the real time TM generated during the pass at the average rate of 50 Kbit/s and is directly relayed to the Control Centre. The latter is used to downlink TM data collected on the satellite on-board mass memory during the non visibility period. This generates at the Ground Station a raw TM file of up to 37 MByte. Within 20' after the end of the contact, both the real time and mass memory TM arrive at ADC through the dedicated VPN ASINet. Here they are automatically detected and ingested by the TMPPS pipeline in less than 5 minutes. The TMPPS archives each TM file and sorts its packets into one stream for each of the different TM layout. Each stream is processed in parallel in order to unpack the various telemetry field and archive them into suitable FITS files. Each operation is tracked into a MySQL data base which interfaces the TMPPS pipeline to the rest of the scientific pipeline running at ADC. In this paper the architecture and the performance of the TMPPS will be described and discussed.
The Minicalorimeter (MCAL) is a scintillation detector onboard the Italian space mission AGILE, dedicated
to gamma-ray and hard-X astrophysics and launched on 23 April, 2007. MCAL can work both as part of the
gamma-ray imaging system and as an independent detector for gamma-ray burst (GRB) in the 350 keV - 100
MeV energy range. The on-board trigger logic is now enabled for burst search on timescales as short as 64
ms, leading to a detection rate of about one event/week. MCAL is particularly suitable for the detection of
short-hard bursts and contributes to GRB localization through the Inter-Planetary Network (IPN).
The Italian small satellite mission AGILE has been launched the 23rd of April 2007. SuperAGILE is the solidstate
hard X-ray imager of the mission. It is a coded-mask imager, with six arcmin angular resolution, a field of
view in excess of 1 steradian, and a gross energy resolution. Ground calibration campaigns have been performed
in the last year to optimize the detector response, for the energy calibration, to obtain the effective area at
various angles for various energy bands, to study location accuracy and angular resolution. In this paper we
report the preliminary results achieved.
The AGILE satellite has just finished the first and larger part of its commissioning phase. SuperAGILE successfully
passed the commissioning tests, and it is now in its final configuration. It is observing the X-ray sky
since the end of June as a part of the Science Verification Phase. The in-flight calibrations has been started and
will ended at the end of October. We show the first data obtained with the instrument in the first months of
observations.
The AGILE Mission will explore the gamma-ray Universe with a very innovative instrument combining for the first time a gamma-ray imager (sensitive in the range 30 MeV - 50 GeV) and a hard X-ray imager (sensitive in the range 15-45 keV). An optimal angular resolution and a large field of view are obtained by the use of state-of-the-art Silicon detectors integrated in a very compact instrument. AGILE will be operational at the beginning of 2007 and it will provide crucial data for the study of Active Galactic Nuclei, Gamma-Ray Bursts, unidentified gamma-ray sources, Galactic compact objects, supernova remnants, TeV sources, and fundamental physics by microsecond timing.
AGILE is a small space mission of the Italian Space Agency (ASI) devoted to astrophysics in the gamma-ray energy range 30 MeV - 50 GeV, and in the X-ray band 15 keV - 45 keV. The AGILE Payload is composed of three instruments: a gamma-ray imager based on a Tungsten-Silicon Tracker (ST), for observations in the gamma ray energy range 30 MeV - 50 GeV, a Silicon based X-ray detector, Super-Agile (SA), for imaging in the range 15 keV - 40 keV and a CsI(Tl) Mini-Calorimeter (MCAL) that detects gamma rays or particle energy deposits between 300 keV and 200 MeV. The payload is currently fully integrated and the satellite is expected to be launched in the second half of 2006. MCAL is composed of 30 CsI(Tl) scintillator detectors with the shape of a bar with photodiode readout at both ends, arranged in two orthogonal layers. MCAL can work both as a slave of the ST and as an independent gamma-ray detector for the detection of transients and Gamma Ray Bursts. In this paper a detailed description of MCAL is presented together with the first on ground calibration results.
AGILE is an Italian Space Agency (ASI) space mission for high energy astrophysics in the gamma ray energy range 30MeV-50GeV, and in the X-ray band 10keV-40keV.
AGILE is composed of three detecting systems: a Tungsten-Silicon Tracker, a CsI(Tl) Mini-Calorimeter and a Silicon based X-ray detector (Super-Agile), plus an anticoincidence system for background rejection.
The satellite will have good imaging performances (with angular resolution of a few arc-minutes in the gamma ray band), good timing resolution and a large field of view (about 1/5 of the sky).
AGILE detection principle is based on the pair production process that arises from the interaction of high energy photons with the Tungsten layers of the Silicon Tracker. The Silicon Tracker determines the direction of the incoming radiation, while the Mini-Calorimeter contributes to the evaluation of the interacting photons' energy.
The Mini-Calorimeter can also work as a stand-alone gamma ray detector in the energy range 250keV-250MeV, with no imaging capabilities, for the detection of transients and gamma ray burst events (in cooperation with Super-Agile) and for the evaluation of gamma ray background fluctuations. We report the status and the result of the latest tests on the Mini-Calorimeter models already realized.
KEYWORDS: Computer programming, Calibration, Switches, Sensors, Control systems, Servomechanisms, Local area networks, Computing systems, Power supplies, Star sensors
AGILE is an ASI (Italian Space Agency) Small Space Mission for high energy astrophysics in the range 30 MeV - 50 GeV which is planned to be launched in 2005. Mechanical equipments are required for the Assembly, Integration and Verification (AIV) of the various subsystems together, forming the Payload complement. Furthermore, the calibration of the AGILE's performances requires to test with a beam line and with discrete X and γ ray sources the instrument response as a function of the energy of the incoming photons and particles and of their inclination with respect to the instrument axis. These AIV and Calibration activities lead to require an ad hoc Mechanical Ground Support Equipment (MGSE) which is able to move the instrument up and down, left and right as well as to rotate the instrument around the vertical axes and to tilt it by an angle between 0 and 180° with reference to the direction of the beam. We present here the MGSE we have designed in order to provide these functionalities with the required performances, and taking into account the working environment of the AIV and calibration sites.
In this paper we describe the instrumentation and the software tools we developed to test the SuperAGILE Front-End Electronics (SAFEE) and Interface Electronics (SAIE). The SAFEE is based on twelve XAA1.2 ASICs (produced by IDE-AS). The Test Equipment hardware is composed of commercial VME modules and laboratory developed boards. Commercial VME boards were used for data acquisition and SAFEE handling. Laboratory developed boards provide signal conditioning, pulse generation, trigger system and timing. The VME based architecture assured a stable system for a period of years and a very high acquisition rate. The choice of 'laboratory-developed' boards allowed an easy and cost effective continuous improvement of the system.
Two Linux running PC were used, one for the "System Control" and data acquisition, the other one for data reduction and archiving. The s/w for DAQ, data-reduction, and analysis also was laboratory-developed and based on well-known tools.
AGILE is an ASI (Italian Space Agency) Small Space Mission for high energy astrophysics in the range 30 MeV - 50 GeV which is planned to be launched in 2005. The AGILE payload complement consists of a Tungsten-Silicon Tracker, a CsI Minicalorimeter, an anticoincidence system and a X-Ray detector sensitive in the 10-40 KeV range. The Minicalorimeter detector shall contribute to the determination of the energy interacting gamma-rays and will allow the detection of Gamma Ray Burst and other impulsive events from around 300 KeV.
The MCAL Science Console software is part of the test equipment which provides support to the integration, verification and calibration of the Minicalorimeter from the Simplified Electrical Model (SEM) to the Protoflight model (PFM). We describe here the software version we have developed for the SEM test equipment, and which has been used during the functional, performance and calibration test campaign carried out in 2003 on the SEM Minicalorimeter model. In particular we address the performance and architectural issues in view of the next release to be procured for the Minicalorimeter PFM
AGILE is an ASI gamma-ray astrophysics space Mission which will operate in the 30 MeV - 50 GeV range with imaging capabilities also in the 10 - 40 keV range. Primary scientific goals include the study of AGNs, gamma-ray bursts, Galactic sources, unidentified gamma-ray sources, diffuse Galactic and extragalactic gamma-ray emission, high-precision timing studies, and Quantum Gravity testing. The AGILE scientific instrument is based on an innovative design of three detecting systems: (1) a Silicon Tracker, (2) a Mini-Calorimeter, and (3) an ultralight coded mask system with Si-detectors (Super-AGILE). AGILE is designed to provide: (1) excellent imaging in the energy bands 30 MeV-50 GeV (5-10 arcmin for intense sources) and 10-40 keV (1-3 arcmin); (2) optimal timing capabilities, with independent readout systems and minimal deadtimes for the Silicon Tracker, Super-AGILE and Mini-Calorimeter; (3) large field of view for the gamma-ray imaging detector (~3 sr) and Super-AGILE (~1 sr). AGILE will be the only Mission entirely dedicated to source detection above 30 MeV during the period 2004-2006.
The gamma-ray telescope IBIS, on Board the INTEGRAL satellite, is
expected to satisfy the mission's imaging objectives, by using two
position sensitive detection planes, one with 16384 Cadmium
Telluride pixels (ISGRI) at lower energies and the other with 4096
Caesium Iodide pixels (PICsIT) for higher energy detection. Given to the high complexity of the system, a dedicated Experiment Check Out Equipment (ECOE), was developed, capable not only to acquire, archive and monitor, the instrument data, but also to perform a fast data analysis, in order to deeply understand the instrument behavior in real-time. The system was used to support the IBIS Test and Calibration campaign campaigns, from the Engineering to the Flight model, and it will be used again during the Commissioning Phase, after
launch. We describe here, the architecture of the ECOE system and the
quick-look analysis tools that, with an user friendly graphical
interface, allows the user to analyze, in an easy way, both the
IBIS housekeeping and scientific data.
The Italian Small Scientific Satellite AGILE is designed to operate in the energy range 30 MeV-50 GeV and will achieve an angular resolution of 5 to 20 for intense sources over a large field of view (better then 2 sr). The payload consists of a X-ray imaging detector (Super-Agile), a Silicon-Tungsten Tracker, a Cesium Iodide Mini-Calorimeter, an anticoincidence system, fast readout electronics and processing unit. The Mini-Calorimeter, comprises 2 orthogonal planes each consisting of 16 bars of CsI(Tl), it will contribute to the determination of the energy of the interacting gamma-rays and will allow the detection of Gamma Ray Bursts and other impulsive events from around 300 keV. A prototype of the Mini-Calorimeter has been tested both with laboratory sources and with charged particles (1 - 2 GeV/c) during some dedicated test campaign carried out in August 1999, in May 2000 and in November 2000 at the CERN T11 beamline (East Hall, CERN PS). The test set-up was completed with a prototype of the flight frontend electronic chain. A prototype of the digital data acquisition chain, which will be the basis of the payload Electronic Ground Support Equipment, has also been built and tested. The tests have been devoted to detector unit characterization and electronic characterization. The results of the tests carried out in 2000 are described and discussed.
KEYWORDS: Sensors, Calibration, Data acquisition, Data archive systems, Prototyping, Electronics, Gamma radiation, Switches, Binary data, Local area networks
The AGILE satellite is designed to observe emission in the energy range from 30 MeV to 50 GeV from a variety of celestial objects such as Galactic sources, Active Galactic Nuclei, gamma ray bursts, solar flares and unidentified objects as well as diffuse emission. It is intended to be operational for a period of 3 years from the foreseen launch date of 2002. In the intervening time the instrument will proceed from the design phase, through the construction, test and calibration to the flight ready status. In order to support these activities a dedicated Ground Support Equipment (GSE), including both mechanical and electrical items will be required. Herein we describe the architecture of the GSE with particular reference to the items devoted to the scientific data acquisition, archiving and processing and to the control of the detector position in the calibration beam facility.
The PICsIT instrument is the high energy imager which together with a low-energy plane comprises one of the two main detectors of the INTEGRAL gamma-ray satellite due to be launched by ESA in late 2001. PICsIT consists of 8 identical modules of 512 Caesium Iodide (CsI) scintillation crystals. The calibration of the detection plane is performed at module level (in three parallel chains), and consists of characterizing each pixel in terms of resolution, gain and efficiency to a very high precision. The high precision and large number of pixels leads to the production of very large amounts of data which then leads to the requirement for a system capable of accumulating at a very high bit-rate; of archiving the data in a suitable format for later analysis; of visualizing these data as they are accumulated in a quick-look fashion in order to control the correct set-up of the test arrangement and the detector functionality during the test and of partially analyzing these extremely large quantities of data on-line so as to obtain the results essential for proceeding with the test process in a rapid manner and not to impede the data accumulation process. Herein we describe the test equipment currently in use for the flight model calibration.
IBIS is the imaging telescope onboard the ESA satellite INTEGRAL. IBIS will produce images of the gamma-ray sky in the region between 15 keV and 10 MeV by means of a position sensitive detection plane coupled with a coded aperture mask. The detection plane comprises two position sensitive layers: ISGRI and PICsIT. PICsIT is a 64 X 64 unit array of approximately 0.75 cm2 crystals operating in the energy range between 150 keV and 10 MeV, arranged as 8 modules of 512 pixels. The PICsIT Qualification Model consists of one module and is therefore fully representative of the scientific performances of the flight model in terms of gain, linearity lower energy threshold and energy resolution. The performances evaluated from the analysis of the module calibration data are presented.
IBIS is the imaging telescope onboard the ESA satellite INTEGRAL, which will be launched in September, 2001. IBIS will produce images of the gamma-ray sky in the region between 15 keV and 10 MeV by means of a position sensitive detection lane coupled with a coded aperture mask. The detection plane of IBIS comprises two position sensitive layers: ISGRI and PICsIT. PICsIT is a 64 X 64 unit array of approximately equals 0.75 cm2 crystals operative in the energy range between 150 keV and 10 MeV. The engineering model (EM) of PICsIT has now been calibrated and delivered to ESA. In this work we present the preliminary results obtained from the PICsIT EM scientific calibrations. These test were the first occasion for measuring the general behavior of the detector in terms of the key scientific performances. The gain, linearity, energy resolution, lower energy threshold and background counting rate for each detection unit and the variation of these parameters as a function of pixel position and were measured. Preliminary results regarding event multiplicity distribution, and energy resolution degradation for multiple events are also presented.
KEYWORDS: Data acquisition, Calibration, Signal processing, Solar thermal energy, Sensors, Receivers, Data archive systems, Structural health monitoring, Human-machine interfaces, Technetium
The IBIS instrument is a telescope designed to produce imags of the high-energy sky with an angular resolution of several arcminutes over a wide field of view. This is obtained by use of a coded aperture in conjunction with two separate position sensitive detection planes. The upper layer, ISGRI consists of 16384 CdTe elements and operates between 15 and 600 keV, while the underlying layer PICsIT comprises 8 identical modules housing altogether 4096 CsI(TI) scintillating crystals coupled to PIN photodiodes and functions between 0.15 an 10 MeV. The PICsIT Science Test Equipment has been designed in order to support the functional, environmental and calibration tests of the PICsIT detector at all test levels, including when the PICsIT module is integrate din the IBIS instrument and, afterwards, when IBIS itself is integrated in the spacecraft. To this end, the system has been distributed over two workstations: the On-line Science Console and the Off-line Science Console. The On-line Science Console manages the interfacing with the equipment which commands and acquires the data from the instrument, the near-real time acquisition unpacking and storage of the instrument data, and also allows the operator to continuously monitor the calibration procedure from a scientific point of view. The Off-line Science Console allows the operator to perform more detailed investigations of the instrument performances. The system as implemented for the Engineering Model test and calibration and the current status of the project are described.
The European Photon Imaging Camera (EPIC) is one of the major instruments on board the European Space Agency's X-ray Multi-Mirror cornerstone mission planned for launch at the end of the century. Ground calibrations have been performed in 1997 and 1998 on the electrical and flight models of the MOS-CCD and on the flight model of the p-n-CCD focal plane cameras at he Synchrotron facility at IAS Orsay in France. The complexity of the imaging systems required a correspondingly sophisticated calibration equipment, capable of automatically setting and calibrating the synchrotron beam at a particular energy, controlling the camera head movement in synchronism with the CCD frame readout, initializing the instrument and acquiring both the instrument data and the facility monitor data in realtime. Furthermore, always in real-time, the data stream was unpacked and stored as photon lists in FITS format and made available via NFS to the off-line analysis software. Contemporaneously, a quick look program allowed the operator to continuously monitor the calibration procedure from a scientific point of view, ensuring the correct operation of the system. The calibration system from the point of view of the instrument and the current status of the project is described.
The European photon imaging camera (EPIC) is one of the two main instruments onboard the ESA X-Ray Cornerstone Mission XMM. It is devoted to performing imaging and spectroscopy of the x-ray sky in the domain 0.1 10 keV with a peak sensitivity in 105 seconds of 2 multiplied by 10-15 erg/cm-2. The x-ray instrumentation is complemented by a radiation monitor which will measure the particle background. The spectral resolution is approximately 140 eV at 6.4 keV and 60 eV at 1 keV. The instrumentation consists of three separate focal plane cameras at the focus of the three XMM telescopes, containing CCDs passively cooled to typically minus 100 degrees via radiators pointing toward the anti-Sun direction. The two cameras with the field of view partially occulted by the RGS grating boxes will have MOS technology CCDs while the third camera, with full field of view, will be based on p-n technology. The CCDs in the focal plane of the cameras will cover the entire 30 foot by 30 foot field of view of the telescope while the pixel size (40 by 40 (mu) for the MOS camera and 150 multiplied by 150 (mu) for the p-n) will be adequate to sample the approximately 20' PSF of the mirrors. In order to cope with a wide range of sky background and source luminosity in the visible/UV band, a filter wheel with six positions has been implemented in each camera. The six positions correspond to: open position, closed position, one thin filter (1600 angstrom of plastic support and 400 angstrom of Al), one medium filter (1600 angstrom of plastic support and 800 angstrom of Al) and one thick filter (approximately 3000 angstrom of plastic support, approximately 1000 angstrom of Al and 300 Angstrom of Sn). The final position will be a redundant filter of type still to be decided. A set of radioactive sources in each camera will allow the calibration of the CCDs in any of the operating modes and with any filter wheel position. Vacuum doors and valves operated will allow the operation of other camera heads on the ground, in a vacuum chamber and/or in a controlled atmosphere, and will protect the CCDs from contamination until the spacecraft is safely in orbit. The MOS camera will have 7 CCDs, each of 600 by 600 pixels arranged in a hexagonal pattern with one central and six peripheral. The p-n camera head will have 12 CCDs, each with 200 multiplied by 64 pixels, in a rectangular arrangement, 4 quadrants of 3 CCDs each. The radiation monitor is based on two separate detectors to monitor the low (electrons greater than 30 keV) and the high (electrons greater than 200 keV and protons greater than 10 MeV) energy particles impinging on the telescope along its orbit.
The capabilities of the European Photon Imaging Camera (EPIC), the main instrument of ESA's 'Cornerstone' mission in X-ray astronomy with multiple mirrors (XMM), are discussed. The CCD characteristics, spatial resolution, energy bandpass and faint source sensitivity, spectral resolution and sensitivity, and timing capability are addressed, and the scientific rationale of the EPIC is summarized. The EPIC instrument system concept is briefly described.
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