• Bulletin of the Korean Space Science Society
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• 2010.04a
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• pp.26.4-27
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• 2010

The main payload of STSAT-3 (Science and Technology Satellite 3), MIRIS (Multipurpose InfraRed Imaging System) is the first Korean infrared space mission to explore the near-infrared sky with a small astronomical instrument, which is being developed by KASI. The 8-cm passively cooled telescope with a wide field of view (3.67 deg. $\times$ 3.67 deg.) will be operated in the wavelength range from 0.9 to $2{\mu}m$. It will carry out wide field imaging and the emission line survey. The main purposes of MIRIS are to perform the Cosmic Infrared Background (CIB) observation at two wide spectral bands (I and H band) and to survey the Galactic plane at $1.88{\mu}m$ wavelength, the Paschen-$\alpha$ emission line. CIB observation enables us to reveal the nature of degreescale CIB fluctuation detected by the IRTS (Infrared Telescope in Space) mission and to measure the absolute CIB level. The Pashen-$\alpha$ emission line survey of Galactic plane helps us to understand the origin of Warm Ionized Medium (WIM) and to find the physical properties of interstellar turbulence related to star formation. Here, we also discuss the observation plan with MIRIS.

• Publications of The Korean Astronomical Society
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• v.32 no.1
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• pp.317-319
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• 2017

We propose a cosmological survey to probe star formation and nuclear activity in galaxies at redshifts of z=2-4 by polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) features using the SPICA mid-infrared instrument (SMI) with a spectral resolution of R=20. We will cover a wavelength range of $20-36{\mu}$ that corresponds to z=2-4 for the PAH features (11.3, 7.7, and $6.2{\mu}$). The sensitivity will be $1{\times}10^{-19}W/m^2(5{\sigma})$ in case of a reference survey that covers 4 arcmin2 field in a one-hour observation. It corresponds to $L_{IR}=2{\times}10^{11}L_{\odot}$ at z=3 and will give us more than 10000 galaxies in a 450 hour survey.

• The Bulletin of The Korean Astronomical Society
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• v.35 no.1
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• pp.38.2-38.2
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• 2010

We report the current status of CQUEAN (Camera for QUasars in EArly uNiverse) development. CQUEAN is an optical CCD camera which uses a 1024*1024 pixel deep-depletion CCD. It has an enhanced QE than conventional CCD at wavelength band around 1${\mu}m$, thus it will be an efficient tool for observation of quasars at z > 7. It will be attached to the 2.1m telescope at McDonald Observatory, USA. A telescope interface containing a focal reducer is being designed to secure a larger field of view at the cassegrain focus of 2.1m telescope. Instrument control software will be written with python on linux platform. We are carrying out lab tests to investigate the characteristics of the system components in order to maximize the observational efficiency. Preliminary results of the tests will be presented. CQUEAN is expected to see the first light during summer season of 2010.

• The Bulletin of The Korean Astronomical Society
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• v.37 no.2
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• pp.239.1-239.1
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• 2012

This paper presents the results of one of early sciences with Korean VLBI Network (KVN): a large fringe survey of compact radio sources at 43GHz. We established the catalog of correlated flux densities in three ranges of baseline projection lengths of 637 sources from a 43 GHz (Q-band) survey observed with the Korean VLBI Network. Of them, 623 sources have not been observed before at Q-band with VLBI. The goal of this work in the early science phase of the new VLBI array is twofold: to evaluate the performance of the new instrument that operates in a frequency range of 22--129 GHz and to build a list of objects that can be used as targets and as calibrators. We have observed the list of 799 target sources with declinations down to $-40{\circ}$. Among them, 724 were observed before with VLBI at 22 GHz and had correlated flux densities greater than 200 mJy. The overall detection rate is 78%. The detection limit, defined as the minimum flux density for a source to be detected with 90% probability in a single observation, was in a range of 115--180 mJy depending on declination. However, some sources as weak as 70 mJy have been detected. Of 623 detected sources, 33 objects are detected for the first time in VLBI mode. We determined their coordinates with the median formal uncertainty 20 mas. The results of this work set the basis for future efforts to build the complete flux-limited sample of extragalactic sources at frequencies 22 GHz and higher at 3/4 of the celestial sphere.

• Journal of Astronomy and Space Sciences
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• v.40 no.1
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• pp.1-10
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• 2023

Korea Polar Research Institute (KOPRI) and Korea Astronomy and Space Institute (KASI) have been participating in the European Incoherent Scatter (EISCAT) Scientific Association as an affiliate institution in order to observe the polar ionosphere since 2015. During the period of December 16-21, 2016 and January 3-9, 2018, the observations for the polar ionospheric parameters such as the electron density profiles, ion drift, and electron/ion temperature are carried out in the polar cap/cusp region by the EISCAT Svalbard radar (ESR). The purpose of the observations is to investigate the characteristic of the winter ionosphere in the dayside polar cap/cusp region. In this paper, we briefly report the results of the ESR observations for winter daytime ionosphere and also the simultaneous observations for the ionosphere-thermosphere system together with the balloon-borne instrument High-Altitude Interferometer WIND Experiment (HIWIND) performed by the High Altitude Observatory (HAO), National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR). We further introduce our research activities using long-term EISCAT observations for the occurrence of ion upflow and the climatology of the polar ionospheric density profiles in comparison with the mid-latitude ionosphere. Finally, our future research plans will briefly be introduced.

• The Bulletin of The Korean Astronomical Society
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• v.41 no.2
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• pp.64.3-65
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• 2016

The NISS (Near-infrared Imaging Spectrometer for Star formation history) is the near-infrared instrument optimized to the Next Generation of small satellite series (NEXTSat). The capability of both imaging and low spectral resolution spectroscopy in the near-infrared range is a unique function of the NISS. The major scientific mission is to study the cosmic star formation history in local and distant universe. For those purposes, the main observational targets are nearby galaxies, galaxy clusters, star-forming regions and low background regions. The off-axis optical design is optimized to have a wide field of view ($2deg.{\times}2deg.$) as well as the wide wavelength range from 0.95 to $3.8{\mu}m$. Two linear variable filters are used to realize the imaging spectroscopy with the spectral resolution of ~20. The mechanical structure is considered to endure the launching condition as well as the space environment. The compact dewar is confirmed to operate the infrared detector as well as filters at 80K stage. The electronics is tested to obtain and process the signal from infrared sensor and to communicate with the satellite. After the test and calibration of the engineering qualification model (EQM), the flight model of the NSS is assembled and integrated into the satellite. To verify operations of the satellite in space, the space environment tests such as the vibration, shock and thermal-vacuum test were performed. Here, we report the test results of the flight model of the NISS.

• The Bulletin of The Korean Astronomical Society
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• v.40 no.2
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• pp.39.3-40
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• 2015

The NISS (Near-infrared Imaging Spectrometer for Star formation history) onboard NEXTSat-1 is the near-infrared instrument optimized to the first small satellite of NEXTSat series. The capability of both imaging and low spectral resolution spectroscopy in the near-infrared range is a unique function of the NISS. The major scientific mission is to study the cosmic star formation history in local and distant universe. For those purposes, the main targets are nearby galaxies, galaxy clusters, star-forming regions and low background regions. The off-axis optical design of the NISS with two linear variable filters is optimized to have a wide field of view ($2deg.{\times}2deg.$) as well as the wide wavelength range from 0.95 to $3.8{\mu}m$. The mechanical structure is considered to endure the launching condition as well as the space environment. The dewar inside the telescope is designed to operate the infrared detector at 80K stage. From the thermal analysis, we confirmed that the telescope and the dewar can be cooled down to around 200K and 80K, respectively in order to reduce the large amount of thermal noise. The stray light analysis is shown that a light outside a field of view can be reduced below 1%. After the fabrications of the parts of engineering qualification model (EQM), the NSS EQM was successfully assembled and integrated into the satellite. To verify operations of the satellite in space, the space environment tests such as the vibration, shock and thermal-vacuum test were performed. Here, we report the results of the critical design review for the NISS.

• Bulletin of the Korean Space Science Society
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• 2009.10a
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• pp.42.3-43
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• 2009

Triplets of identical cubesats will be built to carry out the following scientific objectives: i) multi-observations of ionospheric ENA (Energetic Neutral Atom) imaging, ii) ionospheric signature of suprathermal electrons and ions associated with auroral acceleration as well as electron microbursts, and iii) complementary measurements of magnetic fields for particle data. Each satellite, a cubesat for ion, neutral, electron, and magnetic fields (CINEMA), is equipped with a suprathermal electron, ion, neutral (STEIN) instrument and a 3-axis magnetometer of magnetoresistive sensors. TRIO is developed by three institutes: i) two CINEMA by Kyung Hee University (KHU) under the WCU program, ii) one CINEMA by UC Berkeley under the NSF support, and iii) three magnetometers by Imperial College, respectively. Multi-spacecraft observations in the STEIN instruments will provide i) stereo ENA imaging with a wide angle in local times, which are sensitive to the evolution of ring current phase space distributions, ii) suprathermal electron measurements with narrow spacings, which reveal the differential signature of accelerated electrons driven by Alfven waves and/or double layer formation in the ionosphere between the acceleration region and the aurora, and iii) suprathermal ion precipitation when the storm-time ring current appears. In addition, multi-spacecraft magnetic field measurements in low earth orbits will allow the tracking of the phase fronts of ULF waves, FTEs, and quasi-periodic reconnection events between ground-based magnetometer data and upstream satellite data.

• The Bulletin of The Korean Astronomical Society
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• v.37 no.2
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• pp.97.2-97.2
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• 2012

The main payload of Science and Technology Satellite 3 (STSAT-3), Multipurpose InfraRed Imaging System (MIRIS) is the first Korean infrared space mission to explore the near-infrared sky with a small astronomical instrument developed by KASI. The 8-cm passively cooled telescope with a wide field of view (3.67 deg. ${\times}$ 3.67 deg.) will be operated in the wavelength range from 0.9 to $2{\mu}m$. It will carry out wide-band imaging and the Paschen-${\alpha}$ emission line survey. After the calibration of MIRIS in our laboratory, MIRIS has been delivered to SaTReC and successfully assembled into the STSAT-3. The main purposes of MIRIS are to perform the observation of Cosmic Infrared Background (CIB) at two wide spectral bands (I and H band) and to survey the Galactic plane at $1.88{\mu}m$ wavelength, the Paschen-${\alpha}$ emission line. CIB observation enables us to reveal the nature of degree-scale CIB fluctuation detected by the IRTS (Infrared Telescope in Space) mission and to measure the absolute CIB level. The MIRIS will continuously monitor the seasonal variation of the zodiacal light towards the both north and south ecliptic poles for the purpose of calibration as well as the effective removal of zodiacal light. The Pashen-${\alpha}$ emission line survey of Galactic plane helps us to understand the origin of Warm Ionized Medium (WIM) and to find the physical properties of interstellar turbulence related to star formation. Here, we also discuss the observation plan with MIRIS.

• Journal of Astronomy and Space Sciences
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• v.31 no.1
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• pp.73-81
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• 2014

A package of space science instruments, dubbed the Instruments for the Study of Space Storms (ISSS), is proposed for the Next Generation Small Satellite-1 (NEXTSat-1), which is scheduled for launch in May 2016. This paper describes the instrument designs and science missions of the ISSS. The ISSS configuration in NEXTSat-1 is as follows: the space radiation monitoring instruments consist of medium energy particle detector (MEPD) and high energy particle detector (HEPD); the space plasma instruments consist of a Langmuir probe (LP), a retarding potential analyzer (RPA), and an ion drift meter (IDM). The space radiation monitoring instruments (MEPD and HEPD) measure electrons and protons in parallel and perpendicular directions to the geomagnetic field in the sub-auroral region, and they have a minimum time resolution of 50 msec for locating the region of the particle interactions with whistler mode waves and electromagnetic ion cyclotron (EMIC) waves. The MEPD measures electrons and protons with energies of tens of keV to ~400 keV, and the HEPD measures electrons with energies of ~100 keV to > ~1 MeV and protons with energies of ~10 MeV. The space plasma instruments (LP, RPA, and IDM) observe irregularities in the low altitude ionosphere, and the results will be compared with the scintillations of the GPS signals. In particular, the LP is designed to have a sampling rate of 50 Hz in order to detect these small-scale irregularities.