NASA / MSFC has been preparing for X-ray calibration of the large
optic for the future ESA Athena mission at the 500 meter XRCF
beamline. Improvements include new facility X-ray detectors (Six
Amptek C2 window SDDs and a PI-MTE3 4k CCD camera), stages, and
verification of the facility's operation to the level reached for the
ground calibration of the Chandra X-ray telescope. The XRCF 1.5
meter beam size requires that a flight Athena optic be calibrated by
combining measurements from the six individual sub-sectors of the full
optic. New XRCF capabilities for the Athena measurement include the
ability to measure 12 meter focal length optics with the focal point
not co-linear with the facility optical axis.
As part of these preparations, in January 2023 we tested an SPO module
at the XRCF, aligning the optic in the facility and measuring the
point spread function and effective area at two separate energies.
Our results agree well with previous measurements of this module taken
at the MPE PANTER X-ray beamline. We present a synopsis of the
XRCF facility and its X-ray testing equipment, results from the
XRT#4 testing campaign in January 2023, and show that the XRCF is
currently capable of testing and calibrating large optics for the next
generation of flagship and probe class X-ray observatories.
The X-Ray and Cryogenic Facility (XRCF) at Marshall Space Flight Center is the world’s largest x-ray optic calibration facility and NASA’s premier cryogenic optical test facility. Built specifically to calibrate the Chandra telescope, the facility contributed to several other x-ray missions until 2005 when it became dedicated to normal incidence optical testing at cryogenic temperatures. Recently the facility’s x-ray test capability has been returned to service and updated. New beam monitors, focal plane detectors, and test article and instrument positioning systems have been added. The x-ray data acquisition system has been updated. A real-time position monitoring metrology system is being developed that will enable calibration of large diameter optics via partial illumination in a diverging beam. The newly expanded x-ray test capabilities of the facility will be discussed.
The X-ray and Cryogenic Facility (XRCF) at the NASA Marshall Space
Flight Center (MSFC) is the baselined facility for X-ray testing of
the Athena X-ray optics. Here we give an overview of the planned
testing, including the XRCF facility and its 500-meter X-ray
beamline, the required facility X-ray sources and detectors,
testing requirements, and the GSE required for X-ray testing and
calibration of the Athena mirror assembly module demonstrator (MAMD),
the qualification model mirror (QM), and the flight model mirror (FM).
Of special interest is the metrology system needed for the
calibration: because the large Athena optic (the Mirror Assembly
Module, or MAM) is too large for full illumination in the XRCF 1.5m
diameter X-ray beam, the six sectors of the MAM will be tested
separately, requiring precise knowledge of the optic and detector
positions during the calibration to enable the stitching together of
the full MAM point spread function from measurements of the individual
sectors.
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