Measurements with the Chandra X-Ray Observatory's flight contamination monitor

Ronald F. Elsner; Jeffery J. Kolodziejczak; Stephen L. O'Dell; Douglas A. Swartz; Allyn F. Tennant; Martin C. Weisskopf

doi:10.1117/12.407552

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28 November 2000 Measurements with the Chandra X-Ray Observatory's flight contamination monitor

Ronald F. Elsner, Jeffery J. Kolodziejczak, Stephen L. O'Dell, Douglas A. Swartz, Allyn F. Tennant, Martin C. Weisskopf

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Proceedings Volume 4138, X-Ray Optics, Instruments, and Missions IV; (2000) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.407552
Event: International Symposium on Optical Science and Technology, 2000, San Diego, CA, United States

Abstract

NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory includes a Flight Contamination Monitor (FCM), a system of 16 radioactive calibration sources mounted on the inside of the Observatory's forward contamination cover. The purpose of the FCM is to verify the ground-to-orbit transfer of the Chandra flux scale, through comparison of data acquired during the ground calibration with those obtained in orbit, immediately prior to opening the Observatory's sun-shade door. Here we report results of these measurements, which limit the absolute value of the change in mirror-detector system response to less than 2% at Ag Lα (3 keV) and Mn Kα (6 keV). This limit is consistent with the prelaunch estimate of less than 10 Å accumulation of molecular contamination between ground calibration and initial on-orbit operations.

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Ronald F. Elsner, Jeffery J. Kolodziejczak, Stephen L. O'Dell, Douglas A. Swartz, Allyn F. Tennant, and Martin C. Weisskopf "Measurements with the Chandra X-Ray Observatory's flight contamination monitor", Proc. SPIE 4138, X-Ray Optics, Instruments, and Missions IV, (28 November 2000); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.407552

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