SAFIRE : A novel high resolution cooled spectrometer for atmospheric research

The next generation of stratospheric sounder to follow on the Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite mission will require high sensitivity, broad spectral coverage (to give measurements of many chemical species) and high spectral resolution. The SAFIRE project is an attempt to satisfy all these requirements through an all-cooled very high resolution Michelson interferometer/multi-channel design, for use on the polar orbiting component of the Space Station. The paper will describe the scientific aims and the conceptual instrument design of the project.