On-orbit performance of the ISS-CREAM Calorimeter

Cosmic Ray Energetics And Mass for the International Space Station (ISS-CREAM) experiment is designed to study the composition and energy spectra of cosmic-ray particles from 10¹² to 10¹⁵ eV. ISS-CREAM was launched and deployed to the ISS in August 2017. The ISS-CREAM payload employs a Silicon Charge Detector for charge measurements, Top and Bottom Counting Detector for electron-hadron separation and a low-energy trigger, a Boronated Scintillator Detector for additional electron-hadron separation, and a Calorimeter (CAL) for energy measurements and a high-energy trigger. The CAL is constructed of 20 layers of tungsten plates interleaved with scintillating fiber ribbons read out by hybrid-photodiodes (HPDs) and densified carbon targets. Each CAL layer is made of 3.5 mm (1 X0) thick tungsten plates alternating with fifty 0.5 mm thick and 1 cm wide scintillating fiber ribbons. Consecutive layers of fiber ribbons are installed orthogonal to each other. Energy deposition in the CAL determines the particle energy and provides tracking information to determine which segment(s) of the charge detectors to use for the charge measurement. Tracking for showers is accomplished by extrapolating each shower axis back to the charge detectors. The performance of the ISS-CREAM CAL during flight is presented.