Constellation-X soft x-ray telescope segmented optic assembly and alignment implementation

Jason H. Hair; Jeff W. Stewart; Robert Petre; William W. Zhang; David A. Content; Timo T. Saha; William A. Podgorski; Paul E. Glenn; Mark L. Schattenburg; Ralf K. Heilmann; Yanxia Sun; Giriraj Nanan

doi:10.1117/12.461468

11 March 2003 Constellation-X spectroscopy x-ray telescope segmented optic assembly and alignment implementation

Jason H. Hair, Jeff W. Stewart, Robert Petre, William W. Zhang, David A. Content, Timo T. Saha, William A. Podgorski, Paul E. Glenn, Mark L. Schattenburg, Ralf K. Heilmann, Yanxia Sun, Giriraj Nanan

Author Affiliations +

Proceedings Volume 4851, X-Ray and Gamma-Ray Telescopes and Instruments for Astronomy; (2003) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.461468
Event: Astronomical Telescopes and Instrumentation, 2002, Waikoloa, Hawai'i, United States

Abstract

The Constellation-X mission will perform X-Ray science with improvements in energy resolution and effective area over its predecessor missions. The primary instrument on each of the four Constellation-X spacecraft is the Spectroscopy X-Ray Telescope (SXT). The SXT is a 1.6m diameter grazing incidence mirror assembly comprised of approximately 4000 optic elements. In order for the optic elements to work together to achieve the required 15 arcsec image resolution for the telescope, each optic must be aligned very precisely. To enable the alignment of the optic elements to the required tolerances, new technology must be developed through a series of technology demonstrators. The first step in this process is the production of the Optical Assembly Pathfinder (OAP). The OAP represents a small section, or module, of the complete SXT and has been designed to facilitate the evaluation and development of the optic element support, alignment, and adjustment concepts, processes, and procedures. To do this, one pair of optic elements, primary and secondary, will be aligned using optical alignment methods including the Centroid Detector Assembly (CDA) and Interferometry. Ten Optic Adjustment Arms will support the optic elements such that their position and figures can be adjusted. Currently, one section, the primary section, of the OAP has been assembled and is awaiting the installation of an optic element for testing.

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Jason H. Hair, Jeff W. Stewart, Robert Petre, William W. Zhang, David A. Content, Timo T. Saha, William A. Podgorski, Paul E. Glenn, Mark L. Schattenburg, Ralf K. Heilmann, Yanxia Sun, and Giriraj Nanan "Constellation-X spectroscopy x-ray telescope segmented optic assembly and alignment implementation", Proc. SPIE 4851, X-Ray and Gamma-Ray Telescopes and Instruments for Astronomy, (11 March 2003); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.461468

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