INFUSE: a rocket-borne FUV integral field spectrograph

The INtegral Field Ultraviolet Spectroscopic Experiment (INFUSE) is a sounding rocket under sounding rocket under development by the Colorado Ultraviolet Spectroscopy Program (CUSP) at the University of Colorado. INFUSE will be the first far-ultraviolet (1000 - 2000 A) integral field spectrograph in space and will have ˚ access to a portion of the Lyman ultraviolet (912 A– 1216A). This instrument leverages the development of ˚ enhanced lithium fluoride (eLiF) mirror coatings, which are roughly 30% more reflective than the conventional LiF+Al coatings used on previous missions. The integral field spectrograph is enabled by an 26-element image slicer precision machined by Canon Inc., with each element acting as a reflective long-slit. Each channel is re-focused and dispersed by one of 26 identical holographic gratings onto the same 94 x 94 mm XS MCP. This will be the largest cross-strip (XS) borosilicate microchannel plate detector yet deployed in space. INFUSE will spectroscopically image the XA region of the Cygnus Loop at the interface between the supernova and the ambient ISM. The first flight of INFUSE is projected for early 2023.