Previous
abstract 
Next
abstract
Session 29 - High Resolution X-ray Imaging & Spectroscopy with AXAF.
Display session, Tuesday, June 10
South Main Hall,
We discuss the X-ray measurement of the focus and alignment of the AXAF (Advanced X-ray Astrophysics Facility) X-ray optics. The High Resolution Mirror Assembly (HRMA) consists of four nested Wolter type I X-ray optics. The attainment of the program goals for high resolution imaging requires that the mirror foci be coincident, both axially and laterally; in addition, the relative tilts between optics within each mirror pair must be small.
The mirror tilts and the parfocalization were measured at the X-Ray Calibration Facility (XRCF) at the Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama during a series of tests in the winter/spring of 1996/1997. The X-ray measurements are compared to the optical alignment data obtained by Eastman Kodak using the HRMA Alignment and Test System (HATS) during HRMA assembly. From these data a model for the relative location and rigid-body orientation of the individual mirror elements is developed; this mirror model is a component of the SAO high fidelity HRMA raytrace model. We also report on the implications for AXAF on-orbit point spread function.
