Abstract
The Marshall Grazing Incidence X-ray Spectrometer (MaGIXS) is a NASA sounding rocket instrument designed to obtain spatially resolved soft X-ray spectra of the solar atmosphere in the 6–24 A (0.5–2.0 keV) range. The instrument consists of a single shell Wolter Type-I telescope, a slit, and a spectrometer comprising a matched pair of grazing incidence parabolic mirrors and a planar varied-line space diffraction grating. The instrument is designed to achieve a 50 mA spectral resolution and 5 arcsecond spatial resolution along a ±4-arcminute long slit, and launch is planned for 2019. We report on the status and our approaches for fabrication and alignment for this novel optical system. The telescope and spectrometer mirrors are replicated nickel shells, and are currently being fabricated at the NASA Marshall Space Flight Center. The diffraction grating is currently under development by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT); because of the strong line spacing variation across the grating, it will be fabricated through e-beam lithography.
Highlights
Like the telescope mirror, the spectrometer mirrors will be fabricated by MSFC using nickel replication
Mandrel fabrication and nickel replication will be done at MSFC
Mounting and alignment of the flight optics will be performed at the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory (SAO)
Summary
The Marshall Grazing Incidence X-ray Spectrometer (MaGIXS) is a NASA sounding rocket instrument designed to observe soft X-ray emissions from 0.5 - 2.0 keV energies in the solar atmosphere. The primary science goal is to differentiate steady, low-frequency heating events from sporadic, high-frequency heating events in the active region core. High-temperature, low-emission plasma will be observed directly with 5 arcsecond spatial and 22 mÅ spectral resolution. The novel optical design consists of a Wolter-I telescope and a 3-optic grazingincidence spectrograph. Mandrel fabrication and nickel replication will be done at MSFC. Mounting and alignment of the flight optics will be performed at the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory (SAO)
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