The FIMS (Far-ultraviolet IMaging Spectrograph; also known as SPEAR, Spectroscopy of Plasma Evolution from Astrophysical Radiation) is the primary payload of the STSAT-1, the first Korean science satellite, which was launched in September, 2003. The FIMS performs spectral imaging of diffuse far-ultraviolet emission with the unprecedented wide field of view and the relatively good spectral resolution. We present far-ultraviolet spectral observations of highly ionized interstellar medium including supernova remnants, superbubbles, soft X-ray shadows, and the molecular hydrogen fluorescent emission lines. The FIMS has detected He II, C III, 0 III, O IV, Si IV, O VI, and H2 fluorescent emission lines. The emission lines arise in shocked or thermally heated and in photo-ionized gases. We present an overview of the FIMS instrument and its initial observational results.

An imaging spectrograph concept optimized for extended far-ultraviolet emission sources is presented. Although the design was originally developed for FIMS aboard the first Korean science satellite STSAT-l launched on September 27, 2003, no rigorous theoretical background of the spectrograph design has been published. The spectrograph design employs an off-axis parabolic cylinder mirror in front of a slit that guides lights to a diffraction grating. The concave grating provides moderate spatial resolution over a large field of view. This mapping capability is absent in most astronomical instruments but is crucial to the understanding of the nature of a variety of astrophysical phenomena. The aberration theory presented in this paper can be extended to holographic gratings in order to improve the spatial as well as the spectral resolutions.