An innovative telescope concept for XEUS and its performance

Michael Kersten; Günther Kling; Norbert Pailer; Johannes Burkhardt

doi:10.1117/12.789306

15 July 2008 An innovative telescope concept for XEUS and its performance

Michael Kersten, Günther Kling, Norbert Pailer, Johannes Burkhardt

Proceedings Volume 7011, Space Telescopes and Instrumentation 2008: Ultraviolet to Gamma Ray; 70111C (2008) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.789306
Event: SPIE Astronomical Telescopes + Instrumentation, 2008, Marseille, France

Abstract

The XEUS mission is conceived as Europe's next generation X-ray space observatory aiming at the detection and spectroscopy of faint astronomical sources located at high red-shift. With unprecedented sensitivity to the million-degree hot universe, XEUS is supposed to explore key areas of contemporary astrophysics. Due to the considerable telescope focal length of 35 m, the mission profile foresees two separate spacecraft, one carrying the mirrors, the other one carrying the detectors, flying in precise formation as if connected by a rigid telescope tube. The paper presents an innovative light-weight X-ray telescope design and its predicted performance as resulting from a recent study on XEUS Telescope Accommodation funded by the European Space Agency ESA. The main challenge of this work was to find a telescope concept compatible with the Ariane V launcher constraints while meeting highly demanding optical performance requirements.

Citation Download Citation

Michael Kersten, Günther Kling, Norbert Pailer, and Johannes Burkhardt "An innovative telescope concept for XEUS and its performance", Proc. SPIE 7011, Space Telescopes and Instrumentation 2008: Ultraviolet to Gamma Ray, 70111C (15 July 2008); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.789306

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