Alignment and integration of lightweight mirror segments

Tyler Evans; Michael Biskach; Jim Mazzarella; Ryan McClelland; Timo Saha; William Zhang; Kai-Wing Chan

doi:10.1117/12.894011

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6 October 2011 Alignment and integration of lightweight mirror segments

Tyler Evans, Michael Biskach, Jim Mazzarella, Ryan McClelland, Timo Saha, William Zhang, Kai-Wing Chan

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Proceedings Volume 8147, Optics for EUV, X-Ray, and Gamma-Ray Astronomy V; 81470P (2011) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.894011
Event: SPIE Optical Engineering + Applications, 2011, San Diego, California, United States

Abstract

The optics for the International X-Ray Observatory (IXO) require alignment and integration of about fourteen thousand thin mirror segments to achieve the mission goal of 3.0 square meters of effective area at 1.25 keV with an angular resolution of five arc-seconds. These mirror segments are 0.4 mm thick, and 200 to 400 mm in size, which makes it difficult not to impart distortion at the sub-arc-second level. This paper outlines the precise alignment, permanent bonding, and verification testing techniques developed at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC). Improvements in alignment include new hardware and automation software. Improvements in bonding include two module new simulators to bond mirrors into, a glass housing for proving single pair bonding, and a Kovar module for bonding multiple pairs of mirrors. Three separate bonding trials were x-ray tested producing results meeting the requirement of sub ten arc-second alignment . This paper will highlight these recent advances in alignment, testing, and bonding techniques and the exciting developments in thin x-ray optic technology development.

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Tyler Evans, Michael Biskach, Jim Mazzarella, Ryan McClelland, Timo Saha, William Zhang, and Kai-Wing Chan "Alignment and integration of lightweight mirror segments", Proc. SPIE 8147, Optics for EUV, X-Ray, and Gamma-Ray Astronomy V, 81470P (6 October 2011); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.894011

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