Published August 2018 | Version v1
Journal article

Gaia Data Release 2. Gaia Radial Velocity Spectrometer

Others:
Mullard Space Science Laboratory (MSSL) ; University College of London [London] (UCL)
Galaxies, Etoiles, Physique, Instrumentation (GEPI) ; Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Observatoire de Paris ; Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Université Paris Diderot - Paris 7 (UPD7)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)
Agence Spatiale Européenne (ESA) ; European Space Agency (ESA)
Airbus Defence and Space [Toulouse]
ESA Scientific Support Office ; European Space Agency (ESA)
INAF - Osservatorio Astronomico di Padova (OAPD) ; Istituto Nazionale di Astrofisica (INAF)
Faculty of Mathematics and Physics [Ljubljana] (FMF) ; University of Ljubljana
University of Leicester
Instituto de Astrofisica de Canarias (IAC)
Leibniz Institute for Astrophysics Potsdam (AIP)
Royal Observatory of Belgium [Brussels] (ROB)
Max-Planck-Institut für Sonnensystemforschung (MPS) ; Max-Planck-Gesellschaft
M2A 2018 ; Laboratoire d'Astrophysique de Bordeaux [Pessac] (LAB) ; Université de Bordeaux (UB)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université de Bordeaux (UB)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)
Laboratoire Univers et Particules de Montpellier (LUPM) ; Institut National de Physique Nucléaire et de Physique des Particules du CNRS (IN2P3)-Université de Montpellier (UM)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)
Thales Services ; THALES [France]
Université de Genève = University of Geneva (UNIGE)
Centre National d'Études Spatiales [Toulouse] (CNES)
Joseph Louis LAGRANGE (LAGRANGE) ; Université Nice Sophia Antipolis (1965 - 2019) (UNS) ; COMUE Université Côte d'Azur (2015-2019) (COMUE UCA)-COMUE Université Côte d'Azur (2015-2019) (COMUE UCA)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Observatoire de la Côte d'Azur ; COMUE Université Côte d'Azur (2015-2019) (COMUE UCA)-Université Côte d'Azur (UCA)-Université Côte d'Azur (UCA)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)
Universiteit Antwerpen = University of Antwerpen [Antwerpen]
Institut d'Astrophysique et de Géophysique [Liège] ; Université de Liège
F.R.S.-FNRS
Centre de Recherche en Astronomie Astrophysique et Géophysique (CRAAG)

Description

This paper presents the specification, design, and development of the Radial Velocity Spectrometer (RVS) on the European Space Agency's Gaia mission. Starting with the rationale for the full six dimensions of phase space in the dynamical modelling of the Galaxy, the scientific goals and derived top-level instrument requirements are discussed, leading to a brief description of the initial concepts for the instrument. The main part of the paper is a description of the flight RVS, considering the optical design, the focal plane, the detection and acquisition chain, and the as-built performance drivers and critical technical areas. After presenting the pre-launch performance predictions, the paper concludes with the post-launch developments and mitigation strategies, together with a summary of the in-flight performance at the end of commissioning.

Abstract

International audience

Additional details

Created:
December 3, 2022
Modified:
November 29, 2023