The opto-mechanical design of the sub-orbital local interstellar cloud experiment (SLICE)

We present the fabrication and testing of the Sub-orbital Local Interstellar Cloud Experiment (SLICE), a rocket-borne payload for ultraviolet astrophysics in the 1020 to 1070 A bandpass. The SLICE optical system is composed of an ultraviolet-optimized telescope feeding a Rowland Circle spectrograph. The telescope is an 8-inch Classical Cassegrain operating at F/7, with Al optics overcoated with LiF for enhanced far-ultraviolet reflectivity. The holographically-ruled grating focuses light at an open-faced microchannel plate detector employing an opaque RbBr photocathode. In this proceeding, we describe the design trades and calibration issues confronted during the build-up of this payload. We place particular emphasis on the technical details of the design, modifications, construction, and alignment procedures for SLICE in order to provide a roadmap for the optimization of future ruggedized experiments for ultraviolet imaging and spectroscopy.