Data processor subsystem for the Black Hole Explorer

Ranjani Srinivasan; Samantha Gray; Ryan Chaves; Rurik Primiani; Gilles Aminot; Stephen Joyce; Doug Martens; Ross Mpi; Eli Alexander Zervigon; Kazunori Akiyama; Rebecca Baturin; Bryan Bilyeu; Manuel Fernandez; John Ford; Summer Franks; Mark Freeman; Peter Galison; Thomas Gauron; Janice Houston; Michael D. Johnson; Hannah Levin; Daniel P. Marrone; Vanessa Marquez; John Test; Jade Wang; Jonathan Weintroub

doi:10.1117/12.3105386

Data processor subsystem for the Black Hole Explorer

Ranjani Srinivasan^*
, Samantha Gray
, Ryan Chaves
, Rurik Primiani
, Gilles Aminot
, Stephen Joyce
, Doug Martens
, Ross Mpi
, Eli Alexander Zervigon
, Kazunori Akiyama
, Rebecca Baturin
, Bryan Bilyeu
, Manuel Fernandez
, John Ford
, Summer Franks
, Mark Freeman
, Peter Galison
, Thomas Gauron
, Janice Houston
, Michael D. Johnson

Hannah Levin, Daniel P. Marrone, Vanessa Marquez, John Test, Jade Wang, Jonathan Weintroub

^*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Conference contribution

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Abstract

The Black Hole Explorer (BHEX) is a proposed space-based Very Long Baseline Interferometry (VLBI) mission designed to detect and measure the photon ring surrounding a black hole. BHEX captures light that has completed orbits within the strong gravitational field near the event horizon thus directly probing the space-time metric in that region. This paper describes the development of the Data Processor (DP) subsystem for the Black Hole Explorer instrument. The functional and physical architecture of the DP subsystem, key design motivations, critical trade studies, and architectural decisions made to satisfy established mission and instrument requirements are covered. Test bench characterization of one of the three printed circuit boards in the DP is described as examples of validation methods and data, and planned end-to-end tests of the DP feeding the optical data downlink (the instrument subsystem downstream of the DP) are briefly described.

Original language	English
Title of host publication	Space Telescopes and Instrumentation 2026: Optical, Infrared, and Millimeter Wave
Subtitle of host publication	SPIE Astronomical Telescopes + Instrumentation
Publisher	SPIE
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1117/12.3105386
Publication status	Published - 21 Aug 2026
Event	SPIE Astronomical Telescopes + Instrumentation 2026 - Copenhagen, Denmark Duration: 5 Jul 2026 → 10 Jul 2026 https://spie.org/conferences-and-exhibitions/astronomical-telescopes-and-instrumentation

Publication series

Name	Proceedings of SPIE Astronomical Telescopes + Instrumentation
Publisher	SPIE
Volume	14145
ISSN (Print)	0277-786X
ISSN (Electronic)	1605-7422

Conference

Conference	SPIE Astronomical Telescopes + Instrumentation 2026
Country/Territory	Denmark
City	Copenhagen
Period	5/07/26 → 10/07/26
Internet address	https://spie.org/conferences-and-exhibitions/astronomical-telescopes-and-instrumentation

Keywords

Black Hole Explorer
BHEX
Space VLBI
signal processing
RF instrumentation
data processing
optical downlink
VDIF

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10.1117/12.3105386

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Srinivasan, R., Gray, S., Chaves, R., Primiani, R., Aminot, G., Joyce, S., Martens, D., Mpi, R., Zervigon, E. A., Akiyama, K., Baturin, R., Bilyeu, B., Fernandez, M., Ford, J., Franks, S., Freeman, M., Galison, P., Gauron, T., Houston, J., ... Weintroub, J. (2026). Data processor subsystem for the Black Hole Explorer. In Space Telescopes and Instrumentation 2026: Optical, Infrared, and Millimeter Wave: SPIE Astronomical Telescopes + Instrumentation Article 1414556 (Proceedings of SPIE Astronomical Telescopes + Instrumentation; Vol. 14145). SPIE. https://doi.org/10.1117/12.3105386

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title = "Data processor subsystem for the Black Hole Explorer",

abstract = "The Black Hole Explorer (BHEX) is a proposed space-based Very Long Baseline Interferometry (VLBI) mission designed to detect and measure the photon ring surrounding a black hole. BHEX captures light that has completed orbits within the strong gravitational field near the event horizon thus directly probing the space-time metric in that region. This paper describes the development of the Data Processor (DP) subsystem for the Black Hole Explorer instrument. The functional and physical architecture of the DP subsystem, key design motivations, critical trade studies, and architectural decisions made to satisfy established mission and instrument requirements are covered. Test bench characterization of one of the three printed circuit boards in the DP is described as examples of validation methods and data, and planned end-to-end tests of the DP feeding the optical data downlink (the instrument subsystem downstream of the DP) are briefly described.",

keywords = "Black Hole Explorer, BHEX, Space VLBI, signal processing, RF instrumentation, data processing, optical downlink, VDIF",

author = "Ranjani Srinivasan and Samantha Gray and Ryan Chaves and Rurik Primiani and Gilles Aminot and Stephen Joyce and Doug Martens and Ross Mpi and Zervigon, \{Eli Alexander\} and Kazunori Akiyama and Rebecca Baturin and Bryan Bilyeu and Manuel Fernandez and John Ford and Summer Franks and Mark Freeman and Peter Galison and Thomas Gauron and Janice Houston and Johnson, \{Michael D.\} and Hannah Levin and Marrone, \{Daniel P.\} and Vanessa Marquez and John Test and Jade Wang and Jonathan Weintroub",

year = "2026",

month = aug,

day = "21",

doi = "10.1117/12.3105386",

language = "English",

series = "Proceedings of SPIE Astronomical Telescopes + Instrumentation",

publisher = "SPIE",

booktitle = "Space Telescopes and Instrumentation 2026: Optical, Infrared, and Millimeter Wave",

address = "United States",

note = "SPIE Astronomical Telescopes + Instrumentation 2026 ; Conference date: 05-07-2026 Through 10-07-2026",

url = "https://spie.org/conferences-and-exhibitions/astronomical-telescopes-and-instrumentation",

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Srinivasan, R, Gray, S, Chaves, R, Primiani, R, Aminot, G, Joyce, S, Martens, D, Mpi, R, Zervigon, EA, Akiyama, K, Baturin, R, Bilyeu, B, Fernandez, M, Ford, J, Franks, S, Freeman, M, Galison, P, Gauron, T, Houston, J, Johnson, MD, Levin, H, Marrone, DP, Marquez, V, Test, J, Wang, J & Weintroub, J 2026, Data processor subsystem for the Black Hole Explorer. in Space Telescopes and Instrumentation 2026: Optical, Infrared, and Millimeter Wave: SPIE Astronomical Telescopes + Instrumentation., 1414556, Proceedings of SPIE Astronomical Telescopes + Instrumentation, vol. 14145, SPIE, SPIE Astronomical Telescopes + Instrumentation 2026, Copenhagen, Denmark, 5/07/26. https://doi.org/10.1117/12.3105386

Data processor subsystem for the Black Hole Explorer. / Srinivasan, Ranjani; Gray, Samantha; Chaves, Ryan et al.
Space Telescopes and Instrumentation 2026: Optical, Infrared, and Millimeter Wave: SPIE Astronomical Telescopes + Instrumentation. SPIE, 2026. 1414556 (Proceedings of SPIE Astronomical Telescopes + Instrumentation; Vol. 14145).

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Conference contribution

TY - GEN

T1 - Data processor subsystem for the Black Hole Explorer

AU - Srinivasan, Ranjani

AU - Gray, Samantha

AU - Chaves, Ryan

AU - Primiani, Rurik

AU - Aminot, Gilles

AU - Joyce, Stephen

AU - Martens, Doug

AU - Mpi, Ross

AU - Zervigon, Eli Alexander

AU - Akiyama, Kazunori

AU - Baturin, Rebecca

AU - Bilyeu, Bryan

AU - Fernandez, Manuel

AU - Ford, John

AU - Franks, Summer

AU - Freeman, Mark

AU - Galison, Peter

AU - Gauron, Thomas

AU - Houston, Janice

AU - Johnson, Michael D.

AU - Levin, Hannah

AU - Marrone, Daniel P.

AU - Marquez, Vanessa

AU - Test, John

AU - Wang, Jade

AU - Weintroub, Jonathan

PY - 2026/8/21

Y1 - 2026/8/21

N2 - The Black Hole Explorer (BHEX) is a proposed space-based Very Long Baseline Interferometry (VLBI) mission designed to detect and measure the photon ring surrounding a black hole. BHEX captures light that has completed orbits within the strong gravitational field near the event horizon thus directly probing the space-time metric in that region. This paper describes the development of the Data Processor (DP) subsystem for the Black Hole Explorer instrument. The functional and physical architecture of the DP subsystem, key design motivations, critical trade studies, and architectural decisions made to satisfy established mission and instrument requirements are covered. Test bench characterization of one of the three printed circuit boards in the DP is described as examples of validation methods and data, and planned end-to-end tests of the DP feeding the optical data downlink (the instrument subsystem downstream of the DP) are briefly described.

AB - The Black Hole Explorer (BHEX) is a proposed space-based Very Long Baseline Interferometry (VLBI) mission designed to detect and measure the photon ring surrounding a black hole. BHEX captures light that has completed orbits within the strong gravitational field near the event horizon thus directly probing the space-time metric in that region. This paper describes the development of the Data Processor (DP) subsystem for the Black Hole Explorer instrument. The functional and physical architecture of the DP subsystem, key design motivations, critical trade studies, and architectural decisions made to satisfy established mission and instrument requirements are covered. Test bench characterization of one of the three printed circuit boards in the DP is described as examples of validation methods and data, and planned end-to-end tests of the DP feeding the optical data downlink (the instrument subsystem downstream of the DP) are briefly described.

KW - Black Hole Explorer

KW - BHEX

KW - Space VLBI

KW - signal processing

KW - RF instrumentation

KW - data processing

KW - optical downlink

KW - VDIF

U2 - 10.1117/12.3105386

DO - 10.1117/12.3105386

M3 - Conference contribution

T3 - Proceedings of SPIE Astronomical Telescopes + Instrumentation

BT - Space Telescopes and Instrumentation 2026: Optical, Infrared, and Millimeter Wave

PB - SPIE

T2 - SPIE Astronomical Telescopes + Instrumentation 2026

Y2 - 5 July 2026 through 10 July 2026

ER -

Data processor subsystem for the Black Hole Explorer

Abstract

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Keywords

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