A temperature controlled Ocean Optics USB2000 spectrometer is used to simultaneously measure irradiance. We have developed a custom built irradiance measurement system to support the Hypsex imager. The system is built around a USB2000 non-imaging spectrometer with a cosine receptor fore-optic mounted through the roof of the rear cabin. The USB2000 spectrometer is housed within a small temperature controlled enclosure to ensure that the temperature of the diffraction grating and electronics are maintained throughout flight, irrespective of changes in ambient and cabin temperature. The enclosure and its control box are mounted alongside the Hypsex system's controlling PC in the rear cabin. Custom software running on the Hyspex PC controls and logs the USB2000 data, and can be slaved to the Hyspex system's acquisition controls to reduce workload. The software automatically optimises the settings of the spectrometer, monitors the output for any saturation, and re-optimises if any saturation is detected. This article was published on 2024-06-25
