The Survey and Time-domain Astrophysical Research eXplorer (STAR-X) will be the most powerful X-ray observatory for discovering transients and surveying wide-areas ever flown. STAR-X fills a critical wavelength gap in the 2020s by providing well-matched—in terms of both sensitivity and temporal cadence—X-ray coverage when the astronomical landscape will be dominated by wide-area imaging surveys. STAR-X three primary goals are to Discover what powers the most violent explosions in the Universe, understand how black holes grow across cosmic time and mass scale, and measure how structure formation heats the majority of Baryons in the Universe.
STAR-X focal plane with the barrel, door, and housing partially cutaway (highlighted in blue)
Our team was tasked with the development of the mechanical and thermal design for the focal plane array for the STAR-X proposal and provide all nessessary information regarding the focal plane array electronics, power consumption, thermal requirments, and mechanical interfaces.
Engineering CAD drawing on the STAR-X detector packaging: Light baffle (cylinder on top), CCD detectors (blue), flexible printed electronics (gold), thermal isolation posts (purple)
STAR-X Focal Plane Array (FPA)
STAR-X FPA side view