This dissertation explores the design, testing, and implementation of cutting-edge spaceborne instrumentation through the investigation of three distinct projects: SPARCS, STRUVE, and EXCITE. The SPARCS astrophysics project focuses on the development of a thermal vacuum chamber for testing contamination-sensitive hardware, alongside the design of ground support equipment (GSE) tailored to SPARCS' performance requirements. STRUVE, a heliophysics CubeSat mission concept, is examined for its mechanical and thermal design strategies, as well as thermal sensitivity studies crucial for mission success. The EXCITE project, an infrared spectrometer balloon-based astrophysics mission, is analyzed for its opto-mechanical design and comprehensive coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE) stress analysis. Throughout the dissertation, each project's challenges, innovations, and solutions are meticulously documented, providing insights into the intricacies and demands of space instrumentation design and testing. The introduction sets the stage by contextualizing the significance of spaceborne instrumentation projects and outlining the scope of the dissertation. The chapters present detailed examinations of SPARCS, STRUVE, and EXCITE, and discuss the engineering complexities and advancements achieved in each project. In conclusion, the dissertation reflects on the lessons learned, implications for future space missions, and the broader impact of SPARCS, STRUVE, and EXCITE on the field of spaceborne instrumentation. This research contributes to the ongoing discourse surrounding space technology innovation and underscores the importance of interdisciplinary collaboration in pushing the boundaries of space exploration.

Gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) are a type of astrophysical transient resulting from the most energetic explosions known in the universe. The explosions occur in distant galaxies, and their bright initial emission may only last a few seconds. Colibri is a telescope being built at the San Pedro Martir Observatory in Baja, CA, MX with high sensitivity in order to study these events at a high redshift. Due to how quickly GRBs occur, it is essential to develop an image reduction pipeline that can quickly and accurately detect these events. Using existing image reduction software from Coatli, which was programmed and optimized for speed using python, numerous time trials were performed in order to determine if the pipeline meets the time requirements with various factors being adjusted. The goal of this experiment is for the telescope to respond to, capture, and reduce the images in under 3 minutes. It was determined that the reduction was optimized when the number of files to be reduced was set equal to 16 or higher by changing the batch number and the blank sky subtraction function was performed. As for the number of exposures, one can take up to four 30 second exposures or twenty 5 second exposures and reduce them in under 3 minutes.

The distribution of galaxies traces the structure of underlying dark matter, and carries signatures of both the cosmology that evolved the universe as well as details of how galaxies interact with their environment and each other. There are many ways to measure the clustering of galaxies, each with unique strengths, uses, theoretical background, and connection to other physical concepts. One uncommon clustering statistic is the Void Probability Function (VPF): it simply asks, how likely is a circle/sphere of a given size to be empty in your galaxy sample? Simple and efficient to calculate, the VPF is tied to all higher order volume-averaged correlation functions as the 0$^{\text{th}}$ moment of count-in-cells, and encodes information from higher order clustering that the robust two-point correlation function cannot always capture. Using simulations of Lyman-alpha emitting galaxies across either redshift history or the epoch of reionization, this work asks: how powerful is the VPF itself? When can and should it be used for galaxy clustering? What unique constraints or guidelines can it give for the pacing of reionization, in the Lyman-$\alpha$ Galaxies in the Epoch of Reionization (LAGER) narrowband survey or across the Roman Space Telescope grism? This work provides practical guidelines for creating and carrying out clustering studies using the the VPF, and motivates the use of the VPF for reionization. The VPF of LAEs can complement LAGER constraints for the end of reionization, and thoroughly inform the timing and pace of reionization with Roman.

As a demonstration study of low-resolution spectrophotometry, the photometric redshift estimation with narrow-band optical photometry of nine galaxy clusters is presented in this thesis. A complete data reduction process of the photometryusing up to 16 10nm wide narrow-band optical filters from 490nm − 660nm are provided. Narrow-band photometry data are combined with broad-band photometry (SDSS/Pan-STARRS) for photometric redshift fitting. With available spectroscopic redshift data from eight of the fields, I evaluated the fitted photometric redshift results and showed that combining broad-band photometric data with narrow-band data result in improvements of factor 2-3, compared to redshift estimations from broad-band photometry alone. With 15 or 16 narrow-band data combined with SDSS (Sloan Digital Sky Survey) or Pan-STARRS1 (The Panoramic Survey Telescope and Rapid Response System) data, a Normalized Median Absolute Deviation of σNMAD ∼ 0.01−0.016 can be achieved. The multiband images of galaxy cluster ABELL 611 have been used to further study intracluster light around its brightest cluster galaxy (BCG). It can be shown here that fitting of BCG+ICL stellar properties using the averaged 1-dimensional radial profile is possible up to ∼ 100kpc within this cluster. The decreasing in age of the stellar population as a function of radius from the BCG+ICL profile, though not entirely conclusive, demonstrates possible future application of low-resolution spectrophotometry on the ICL studies. Finally, Spectro-Photometer for the History of the Universe, Epoch of Reionization, and Ices Explorer (SPHEREx) mission planning study are covered, and a methodology of visualization tool for target availability is described.

Reionization is the phase transition of intergalactic atoms from being neutral to

becoming fully ionized. This process began ∼400 Myr after the Big Bang, when the first

stars and black holes began emitting ionizing radiation from stellar photospheres and

accretion disks. Reionization completed when all of the neutral matter between galaxies

became ionized ∼1 Gyr after the Big Bang, and the Universe became transparent as

it is today.

Characteristics of the galaxies that drove reionization are mostly unknown. The

physical mechanisms that create ionizing radiation inside these galaxies, and the

paths for this light to escape are even more unclear. To date, only a small fraction of

the numerous searches for this escaping light have been able to detect a faint signal

from distant galaxies, and no consensus on how Reionization was completed has been

established.

In this dissertation, I discuss the evolution of the atomic matter between galaxies

from its initially ionized state, to its current re-ionized state, potential sources of

re-ionizing energy, and the theoretical and observational status of the characteristics of

these sources. I also present new constraints on what fraction of the ionizing radiation

escapes from galaxies using Hubble Space Telescope UV imaging, theoretical models

of the stellar and accretion disk radiation, and models of the absorption of ionizing

radiation by the intergalactic medium.

Several key, open questions in astrophysics can be tackled by searching for and

mining large datasets for transient phenomena. The evolution of massive stars and

compact objects can be studied over cosmic time by identifying supernovae (SNe) and

gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) in other galaxies and determining their redshifts. Modeling

GRBs and their afterglows to probe the jets of GRBs can shed light on the emission

mechanism, rate, and energetics of these events.

In Chapter 1, I discuss the current state of astronomical transient study, including

sources of interest, instrumentation, and data reduction techniques, with a focus

on work in the infrared. In Chapter 2, I present original work published in the

Proceedings of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific, testing InGaAs infrared

detectors for astronomical use (Strausbaugh, Jackson, and Butler 2018); highlights of

this work include observing the exoplanet transit of HD189773B, and detecting the

nearby supernova SN2016adj with an InGaAs detector mounted on a small telescope

at ASU. In Chapter 3, I discuss my work on GRB jets published in the Astrophysical

Journal Letters, highlighting the interesting case of GRB 160625B (Strausbaugh et al.

2019), where I interpret a late-time bump in the GRB afterglow lightcurve as evidence

for a bright-edged jet. In Chapter 4, I present a look back at previous years of

RATIR (Re-ionization And Transient Infra-Red Camera) data, with an emphasis on

the efficiency of following up GRBs detected by the Fermi Space Telescope, before

some final remarks and brief discussion of future work in Chapter 5.

The development of new Ultra-Violet/Visible/IR range (UV/Vis/IR) astronomical instrumentation that use novel approaches for imaging and increase the accessibility of observing time for more research groups is essential for rapid innovation within the community. Unique focal planes that are rapid-prototyped, low cost, and provide high resolution are key.

In this dissertation the emergent designs of three unique focal planes are discussed. These focal planes were each designed for a different astronomical platform: suborbital balloon, suborbital rocket, and ground-based observatory. The balloon-based payload is a hexapod-actuated focal plane that uses tip-tilt motion to increase angular resolution through the removal of jitter – known as the HExapod Resolution-Enhancement SYstem (HERESY), the suborbital rocket imaging payload is a Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) delta-doped charge-coupled device (CCD) packaged to survive the rigors of launch and image far-ultra-violet (FUV) spectra, and the ground-based observatory payload is a star centroid tracking modification to the balloon version of HERESY for the tip-tilt correction of atmospheric turbulence.

The design, construction, verification, and validation of each focal plane payload is discussed in detail. For HERESY’s balloon implementation, pointing error data from the Stratospheric Terahertz Observatory (STO) Antarctic balloon mission was used to form an experimental lab test setup to demonstrate the hexapod can eliminate jitter in flight-like conditions. For the suborbital rocket focal plane, a harsh set of unit-level tests to ensure the payload could survive launch and space conditions, as well as the characterization and optimization of the JPL detector, are detailed. Finally, a modification of co-mounting a fast-read detector to the HERESY focal plane, for use on ground-based observatories, intended to reduce atmospherically induced tip-tilt error through the centroid tracking of bright natural guidestars, is described.

At the start of this honors thesis project, a new telescope called the deca-degree optical transient imager (DDOTI) needed assistance to help it gather photometric data about Gamma Ray Bursts (GRBs). Contributions to help DDOTI produce scientifically ready reductions will be discussed.
First, performance assessment tests were run in order to prevent data backlog and optimize the way in which DDOTI reduces the data it collects. The results of these tests yielded a general framework regarding how DDOTI should reduce collected images depending on how many computer cores can be used. These tests also indicated that DDOTI’s alignment portion of the reduction code (ddoti_align) should be completed after every image is collected, while the other parts of the reduction software (ddoti_stack, ddoti_phot, ddoti_summary) should be run after every four images are collected.
Second, reductions created by DDOTI were inspected to determine if the telescope’s reduction software was working properly. Reductions were observed and indicated that two reduction related problems needed to be corrected by the research team before DDOTI would be ready for future scientific work. The first identified problem was that DDOTI’s reduction code was not properly correcting optical distortions for one of DDOTI’s two functional cameras. The second problem was that the reduction code was not correcting for atmospheric refraction. As a result, below zenith distances of approximately sixty degrees, ddoti_align was unable to align detected sources to their catalogue equivalents due to their distorted positions.
Third, code manuals were produced in both English and Spanish so that English and Spanish-speaking researchers working on DDOTI could understand how its reductions software reduces images. Functional flow chart diagrams were also produced only in English to graphically describe the flow of information through DDOTI’s reduction software.
These three contributions helped DDOTI to more accurately be able to observe GRBs. DDOTI’s improved reduction abilities were confirmed by a produced report about GRB 190129B after a 10-hour observation, and by the fact that DDOTI could accurately observed asteroid fields. In addition, code manuals and functional flow chart diagrams were all produced by the end of this project.

This thesis contains an overview, as well as the history of optical interferometers. A new approach to interferometric measurements of stars is proposed and explored. Modern updates to the classic techniques are described along with some theoretical derivations showing why the method of single photon counting shows significant promise relative to the currently used amplitude interferometry.

Description of a modular intensity interferometer system using commercially available single-photon detectors is given. Calculations on the sensitivity and \emph{uv}-plane coverage using these modules mounted on existing telescopes on Kitt Peak, Arizona is presented.

Determining fundamental stellar properties is essential for testing models of stellar evolution as well as for deriving physical properties of transiting exoplanets. The proposed method shows great promise in measuring the angular size of stars. Simulations indicate that it is possible to measure stellar diameters of bright stars with AB magnitude <6 with a precision of >5% in a single night of observation.

Additionally, a description is given of a custom time-to-digital converter designed to time tag individual photons from multiple single-photon detectors with high count rate, continuous data logging, and low systematics. The instrument utilizes a tapped-delay line approach on an FPGA chip which allows for sub-clock resolution of <100 ps. The TDC is implemented on a Re-configurable Open Architecture Computing Hardware Revision 2 (ROACH2) board which allows for continuous data streaming and time tagging of up to 20 million events per second. The functioning prototype is currently set-up to work with up to ten independent channels. Laboratory characterization of the system, including RF, pick up and mitigation, as well as measurement of in-lab photon correlations from an incoherent light source (artificial star), are presented. Additional improvements to the TDC will also be discussed, such as improving the data transfer rate by a factor of 10 via an SDP+ Mezzanine card and PCIe 2SFP+ 10 Gb card, as well as scaling to 64 independent channels.

Furthermore, a modified nulling interferometer with image inversion is proposed, for direct imaging of exoplanets below the canonical Rayleigh resolution limit. Image inversion interferometry relies on splitting incoming radiation from a source, either spatially rotating or reflecting the electric field from one arm of the interferometer before recombining the signals and detecting the resulting images in the two output ports with an array of high-speed single-photon detectors. Sources of incoming radiation that have cylindrical symmetry and are centered on the rotation axis will cancel in one of the output ports and add in the other output port. The ability to suppress light from a host star, as well as the ability to resolve past the Rayleigh limit, enables sensitive detection of exoplanets from a stable environment without the need for a coronagraph. The expected number of photons and the corresponding variance in the measurement for different initial contrast ratios are shown, with some first-order theoretical instrumental errors.

Lastly, preliminary results from a sizeable photometric survey are presented. This survey is used to derive bolometric flux alongside from angular size measurements and the effective stellar temperatures.