Constellation-X SXT optical alignment Pathfinder 2: design, implementation, and alignment

Scott M. Owens; Jason H. Hair; Jeffrey W. Stewart; Robert Petre; William W. Zhang; William A. Podgorski; Paul E. Glenn; David A. Content; Timo T. Saha; Giriraj Nanan

doi:10.1117/12.509366

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29 January 2004 Constellation-X SXT optical alignment Pathfinder 2: design, implementation, and alignment

Scott M. Owens, Jason H. Hair, Jeffrey W. Stewart, Robert Petre, William W. Zhang, William A. Podgorski, Paul E. Glenn, David A. Content, Timo T. Saha, Giriraj Nanan

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Proceedings Volume 5168, Optics for EUV, X-Ray, and Gamma-Ray Astronomy; (2004) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.509366
Event: Optical Science and Technology, SPIE's 48th Annual Meeting, 2003, San Diego, California, United States

Abstract

The Constellation-X SXT mirrors and housings continue to evolve toward a flight-like design. Our second-generation alignment housing, the Optical Alignment Pathfinder 2 (OAP2), is a monolithic titanium structure that is nested inside the OAP1 alignment jig, described in a previous paper (J. Hair, et. al., SPIE 2002). In order to perform x-ray tests in a configuration where the optical axis is horizontal, and continue to develop more flight-like structures, we needed to design a strong, but lightweight housing that would impart minimal deformations on the thin segmented mirrors when it is rotated from the vertical orientation used for optical alignment to the horizontal orientation that is used for x-ray testing. This paper will focus on the design of the OAP2 housing, and the assembly and alignment of the optics within the OAP1 plus OAP2 combination using the Centroid Detector Assembly (CDA). The CDA is an optical alignment tool that was successfully used for the HRMA alignment on the Chandra X-ray Observatory. In addition, since the glass we are using is so thin and flexible, we will present the response of the optical alignment quality of a Wolter-I segment to known deformations introduced in by the OAP1 alignment housing.

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Scott M. Owens, Jason H. Hair, Jeffrey W. Stewart, Robert Petre, William W. Zhang, William A. Podgorski, Paul E. Glenn, David A. Content, Timo T. Saha, and Giriraj Nanan "Constellation-X SXT optical alignment Pathfinder 2: design, implementation, and alignment", Proc. SPIE 5168, Optics for EUV, X-Ray, and Gamma-Ray Astronomy, (29 January 2004); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.509366

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