The AMS Time of Flight System

TL;DR

The paper discusses the AMS experiment's Time of Flight system, detailing its functions, performance during a space shuttle mission, and planned upgrades for operation on the International Space Station.

Contribution

It presents the performance results of the AMS TOF system during its precursor flight and outlines modifications for its final version.

Findings

Successful operation during the shuttle mission

Identified modifications for improved performance

Preparation for extended data collection on the ISS

Abstract

The Time of Flight (TOF) system of the AMS experiment provides the fast trigger to the detector and measures the crossing particle direction, velocity and charge. AMS was operated aboard of the shuttle Discovery on June 1998 (NASA STS-91 mission) and will be upgraded and installed on the International Space Station at the end of 2003, for 3 years of data taking. The performances of the TOF during the precursor flight and modifications needed in the final version of the detector are presented.