Dr. Stephen L. O'Dell is an Astrophysicist at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC), where he serves as Deputy Project Scientist for the Chandra X-ray Observatory and as Project Scientist for the Imaging X-ray Polarimetry Explorer (IXPE). Prior to arriving at MSFC, Dr. O'Dell was a Research Physicist at the University of California in San Diego (UCSD), a Scientist at Universitäts Sternwarte Göttingen, and a Physics Professor at Virginia Tech. He earned baccalaureate and doctoral degrees in Physics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). His principal interests are theoretical astrophysics and x-ray optics and instrumentation.
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Simulations show that a substantial improvement in angular resolution is possible with this approach after multiple correction ‘cycles’. To assess this, custom coating systems have been developed and corrections of full-shell optics are underway. To date, a factor of < 2 improvement in the imaging quality of the optics has been demonstrated in x-ray tests after a single stage of correction.
X-ray optics is an essential component of every conceivable future x-ray observatory. Its astronomical utility is measured with two quantities: angular resolution and photon collecting area. The angular resolution determines the quality of its images and the photon collecting area determines the faintest sources it is capable of detecting and studying. Since it must be space-borne, the resources necessary to realize an x-ray mirror assembly, such as mass and volume, are at a premium. In this paper we report on a technology development program designed to advance four metrics that measure the capability of an x-ray mirror technology: (1) angular resolution, (2) mass per unit photon collecting area, (3) volume per unit photon collecting area, and (4) production cost per unit photon collecting area.
We have adopted two approaches. The first approach uses the thermal slumping of thin glass sheets. It has advantages in mass, volume, and cost. The objective for this approach is improving its angular resolution. As of August 2013, we have been able to consistently build and test with x-ray beams modules that contain three co-aligned Wolter-I parabolichyperbolic mirror pairs, achieving a point spread function (PSF) of 11 arc-second half-power diameter (HPD), to be compared with the 17 arc-seconds we reported last year. If gravity distortion during x-ray tests is removed, these images would have a resolution of 9 arc-seconds, meeting requirements for a 10 arc-second flight mirror assembly. These modules have been subjected to a series of vibration, acoustic, and thermal vacuum tests.
The second approach is polishing and light-weighting single crystal silicon, a material that is commercially available, inexpensive, and without internal stress. This approach has advantages in angular resolution, mass, and volume, and objective is reducing fabrication cost to make it financially feasible to fabricate the ~103 m2 mirror area that would be required for a future major x-ray observatory.
The overall objective of this technology program is to enable missions in the upcoming years with a 10 arc-second angular resolution, and missions with ~1 arc-second angular resolution in the 2020s.
In addition to MSFC's optics fabrication, there are also several areas of research and development to create the high resolution light weight optics which are required by future x-ray telescopes. Differential deposition is one technique which aims to improve the angular resolution of lightweight optics through depositing a filler material to smooth out fabrication imperfections. Following on from proof of concept studies, two new purpose built coating chambers are being assembled to apply this deposition technique to astronomical x-ray optics. Furthermore, MSFC aims to broaden its optics fabrication through the recent acquisition of a Zeeko IRP 600 robotic polishing machine. This paper will provide a summary of the current missions and research and development being undertaken at NASA's MSFC.