Yardstick integrated science instrument module concept for NGST

Abstract

We describe the instrument package concept that we have investigated as part of the Goddard Space Flight Center study for NGST. It is composed of highly integrated, high performance cameras and spectrometers covering the spectral region from 0.6 to 30 microns and with a large field of view.the suite has been configured to reduce cost and complexity with no sacrifice in scientific merit. A common optical bench minimizes interfaces, a guiding system integrated in the science module makes use of the science cameras with minimal penalty to science, and all near IR instruments are built around the same detector module.