The STIX Aspect System (SAS): The Optical Aspect System of the Spectrometer/Telescope for Imaging X-Rays (STIX) on Solar Orbiter

Abstract The Spectrometer/Telescope for Imaging X-rays (STIX) is a remote sensing instrument on Solar Orbiter that observes the hard X-ray bremsstrahlung emission of solar flares. This paper describes the STIX Aspect System (SAS), a subunit that measures the pointing of STIX relative to the Sun with a precision of $\pm 4''$ <mml:math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML"> <mml:mo>±</mml:mo> <mml:msup> <mml:mn>4</mml:mn> <mml:mo>″</mml:mo> </mml:msup> </mml:math> , which is required to accurately localize the reconstructed X-ray images on the Sun. The operating principle of the SAS is based on an optical lens that images the Sun onto a plate that is perforated by small apertures arranged in a cross-shaped configuration of four radial arms. The light passing through the apertures of each arm is detected by a photodiode. Variations of spacecraft pointing and of distance from the Sun cause the solar image to move over different apertures, leading to a modulation of the measured lightcurves. These signals are used by ground analysis to calculate the locations of the solar limb, and hence the pointing of the telescope.