Simpson J P, Witteborn F C
Appl Opt. 1977 Aug 1;16(8):2051-73. doi: 10.1364/AO.16.002051.
A sensitive ir telescope on the Space Shuttle Orbiter will be limited in its performance by fluctuations in the ir radiation from the natural environment and the contaminant atmosphere. Models of the Orbiter's contaminant atmosphere were used to predict its spectral radiance from 3 microm to 300 microm. At 350 km, statistical fluctuations in the radiation from a water vapor column density of 10(12) cm(-2) produce a noise equivalent power of about 2 x 10(-17) W/Hz(1/2) in a 1 min of arc field of view of a 1-m diameter telescope with a 10-microm spectral bandwidth. This noise is somewhat smaller than the expected contribution from zodiacal light from 5 microm to 30 microm. The column density of all ir emitting molecules can be kept as low as 10(12) cm(-2) only if restrictions on rocket firings and liquid vents are maintained. The relatively low frequency of particle sightings from Skylab, coupled with improvements in Orbiter venting techniques, indicates that sightings of particles 2 microm and larger in radius will not seriously hamper tele cope performance provided that liquid vents and rocket firings are properly restricted.
航天飞机轨道器上的一台灵敏的红外望远镜，其性能将受到来自自然环境和污染大气的红外辐射波动的限制。利用轨道器污染大气的模型来预测其在3微米至300微米范围内的光谱辐射率。在350千米高度，对于直径1米、光谱带宽为10微米、视场为1角分的望远镜，水汽柱密度为10¹²厘米⁻²时辐射的统计波动产生的噪声等效功率约为2×10⁻¹⁷瓦/赫兹¹/²。该噪声略小于5微米至30微米范围内黄道光的预期贡献。只有保持对火箭发射和液体排放口的限制，所有红外发射分子的柱密度才能保持在低至10¹²厘米⁻²的水平。天空实验室观测到粒子的频率相对较低，再加上轨道器排放技术的改进，这表明只要适当限制液体排放口和火箭发射，半径2微米及更大的粒子观测不会严重妨碍望远镜性能。
