The NISS onboard NEXTSat-1 is being developed by Korea astronomy and space science institute (KASI). For the study of the cosmic star formation history, the NISS performs the imaging spectroscopic observation in the near-infrared range for nearby galaxies, low background regions, star-forming regions and so on. It is designed to cover a wide field of view (2 × 2 deg) and a wide wavelength range from 0.95 to 3.8 μm by using linear variable filters. In order to reduce the thermal noise, the telescope and the infrared sensor are cooled down to 200 K and 80 K, respectively. Evading a stray light outside the field of view and making the most use of limited space, the NISS adopts the off-axis reflective optical system. The primary and the secondary mirrors, the opto-mechanical part and the mechanical structure are designed to be made of aluminum material. It reduces the degradation of optical performance due to a thermal variation. This paper presents the study on the conceptual design of the NISS.

The next generation small satellite-1 (NEXTSat-1) program has been kicked off in 2012, and it will be launched in 2016 for the science missions and the verification of space core technologies. The payloads for these science missions are the Instrument for the Study of Space Storms (ISSS) and NIR Imaging Spectrometer for Star formation history (NISS). The ISSS and the NISS have been developed by Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) and Korea Astronomy and Space science Institute (KASI) respectively. The ISSS detects plasma densities and particle fluxes of 10 MeV energy range near the Earth and the NISS uses spectrometer. In order to verify the spacecraft core technologies in the space, the total of 7 space core technologies (SCT) will be applied to the NEXTSat-1 for space verification and those are under development. Thus, the operation modes for the ISSS and the NISS for space science missions and 7 SCTs for technology missions are analyzed for the required operation time during the NEXTSat-1’s mission life time of 2 years. In this paper, the operational concept of the NEXTSat-1’s science missions as well as the verification of space core technologies are presented considering constraints of volume, mass, and power after launch.

We have designed a 30 cm cryogenic space infrared telescope for astronomical observation. The telescope is designed to observe in the wavelength range of 0.5~2.1 μm, when it is cooled down to 77 K. The result of the preliminary design of the support structure and support method of the mirror of a 30 cm cryogenic space infrared telescope is shown in this paper. As a Cassegrain prescription, the optical system of a 30 cm cryogenic space infrared telescope has a focal ratio of f/3.1 with a 300 mm primary mirror (M-1) and 113 mm secondary mirror (M-2). The material of the whole structure including mirrors is aluminum alloy (Al6061-T6). Flexures that can withstand random vibration were designed, and it was validated through opto-mechanical analysis that both primary and secondary mirrors, which are assembled in the support structure, meet the requirement of root mean square wavefront error <λ/8 for all gravity direction. Additionally, when the M-1 and flexures are assembled by bolts, the effect of thermal stress occurring from a stainless steel bolt when cooled and bolt torque on the M-1 was analyzed.

We conducted thermal analyses and cooling tests of the space observation camera (SOC) of the multi-purpose infrared imaging system (MIRIS) to verify passive cooling. The thermal analyses were conducted with NX 7.0 TMG for two cases of attitude of the MIRIS: for the worst hot case and normal case. Through the thermal analyses of the flight model, it was found that even in the worst case the telescope could be cooled to less than 206°K. This is similar to the results of the passive cooling test (~200.2°K). For the normal attitude case of the analysis, on the other hand, the SOC telescope was cooled to about 160°K in 10 days. Based on the results of these analyses and the test, it was determined that the telescope of the MIRIS SOC could be successfully cooled to below 200°K with passive cooling. The SOC is, therefore, expected to have optimal performance under cooled conditions in orbit.