TAUVEX UV imager on the SRG

The TAUVEX space astronomy experiment to image wide sky areas in the 140 - 280 nm spectral region is part of the SODART telescope complex on SRG, and functions as a separate scientific instrument and as a service system for the spacecraft. The experiment consists of three bore-sighted telescopes with 20 cm diameter Ritchey-Chretien optics. Each telescope is equipped with a four-position filter wheel and can select one of six UV bands in the spectral region of operation. The photon-counting, imaging detectors cover a field of view of 0°.9, with 80% of the energy from a point source within about 10 arcsec. The image is sampled at 3 arcsec intervals. The sensitivity is such that stars of 10 - 11 mag in the UV are detected in 2 sec, and in a typical SRG pointing of 5 hours stars as faint as 20 mag are detectable. TAUVEX provides off-line aspect solutions for the SODART focal plane instruments and on-line fine pointing information to the SRG attitude and control system. The experiment is constructed by El-Op, Electro-Optical Industries Ltd., and is financially supported by the Government of Israel, through the Israel Space Agency and the Ministry of Science and Arts. By mid-1994 four models of TAUVEX had been produced and supplied to the SRG integrators: size and mass models in 1992, a thermal model in early 1993 and an engineering model in spring 1994. A qualification model is being tested intensively at El-Op these days and the flight model will be ready, after testing, burn-in and calibration, by the end of 1994. TAUVEX is a light-weight, low-power, versatile UV imaging experiment with significant redundancy, which is not limited to operations on-board SRG. The system may operate on other platforms, including small satellites, if such an opportunity occurs.