Abstract
The Advanced X-Ray Astrophysics Facility (AXAF), a NASA project scheduled for launch in the 1990s, is a nested set of six Wolter Type I, x-ray telescopes with a 1.2 meter aperture, and associated scientific instruments. AXAF will perform up to two orders of magnitude better than the highly successful High Energy Astrophysics Observatory (HEAO-II), or the Einstein Observatory, in terms of resolution and effective area. To achieve this goal, the specification on the mirror figure quality must be up to approximately ten times more stringent than that for the HEAO-II. To demonstrate that such high figure quality could be achieved, NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) and the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory (SAO) undertook the Technology Mirror Assembly (TMA) project. This paper is a summary of the assembly and alignment techniques that were successfully used on the TMA.
Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
