SPOrt: A project for radio polarimetry from the International Space Station.

The Sky Polarization Observatory (SPOrt) program is aimed at making the most sensitive polarization measurements attempted so far, from the International Space Station. SPOrt scientific goals include the first polarization map of the Galaxy at 22, 32 and 60 GHz as well as full sky measurements in the so called cosmological window (90 GHz) at unprecedently high sensitivity. The expected pixel sensitivity, in fact, ranges from 5 to 10 μK with FWHM=7°. The SPOrt payload has been designed expressly both to reduce sources of unwanted spurious polarization and to make easier the removal of residual systematic, taking into account constraints due to the accommodation on International Space Station External Payload Adapters. SPOrt has been selected by the European Space Agency to fly for 18 months (2003–2004), during Early Phase Scientific Utilization of the International Space Station, and will be realized in Italy with the support of the Italian Space Agency, under the responsibility of I.Te.S.R.E.-CNR. The scope of this contribution is to focus the attention on most recent SPOrt development activities. © 2000 American Institute of Physics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]