Advanced X-Ray Astrophysics Facility (AXAF)

Martin C. Weisskopf

doi:10.1117/12.958774

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15 August 1980 Advanced X-Ray Astrophysics Facility (AXAF)

Martin C. Weisskopf

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Proceedings Volume 0228, Active Optical Devices and Applications; (1980) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.958774
Event: 1980 Technical Symposium East, 1980, Washington, D.C., United States

Abstract

The Advanced X-Ray Astrophysics Facility (AXAF) will be a national observatory designed for the observation of galactic and extragalactic X-ray sources. The observatory is currently planned to be launched by the Space Shuttle, maintainable in orbit and retrievable, if necessary, during its 10 to 15 years of operation. The heart of the AXAF is an X-ray telescope made up of six Wolter type I mirrors, with the diameter of the outermost mirror 1.2 m. The focal length will be 10 m, and the AXAF will allow for interchanging and (in-orbit) replacing of focal plane instruments. The optics are being designed to provide a spatial resolution of 0.5 arc second over a several arc-minute field and somewhat reduced angular resolution over the entire 1-degree field of view. The energy bandwidth will be 0.1 to 8 keV. These design goals place severe requirements on the materials, tolerances, construction, and alignment of the telescope. These will be discussed and compared to previous work in this area.

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Martin C. Weisskopf "Advanced X-Ray Astrophysics Facility (AXAF)", Proc. SPIE 0228, Active Optical Devices and Applications, (15 August 1980); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.958774

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