  The Far- and Lyman-Ultraviolet Imaging Demonstrator (FLUID) is a rocket-borne
arcsecond-level ultraviolet (UV) imaging instrument covering four bands between
92 -- 193 nm. FLUID will observe nearby galaxies to find and characterize the
most massive stars that are the primary drivers of the chemical and dynamical
evolution of galaxies, and the co-evolution of the surrounding galactic
environment. The FLUID short wave channel is designed to suppress efficiency at
Lyman-$\alpha$ (121.6 nm), while enhancing the reflectivity of shorter
wavelengths. Utilizing this technology, FLUID will take the first ever images
of local galaxies isolated in the Lyman ultraviolet (90 -- 120 nm). As a
pathfinder instrument, FLUID will employ and increase the TRL of band-selecting
UV coatings, and solar-blind UV detector technologies including microchannel
plate and solid state detectors; technologies prioritized in the 2022 NASA
Astrophysical Biennial Technology Report. These technologies enable high
throughput and high sensitivity observations in the four co-aligned UV imaging
bands that make up the FLUID instrument. We present the design of FLUID, status
on the technology development, and results from initial assembly and
calibration of the FLUID instrument.
