Engineering topics
Kilaru, K.
Publications and source records attributed to Kilaru, K..
The HEROES Balloon-Borne Hard X-Ray Telescope
The High Energy Replicated Optics to Explore the Sun (HEROES) payload flew on a balloon from Ft. Sumner, NM, September 21-22, 2013. HEROES is sensitive from about 20-75 keV and comprises 8 optics modules (HPD approximately 33" as flown), each consisting of 13-14 nickel replicated optics shells and 8 matching Xenon-filled position-sensitive proportional counter detectors (dE/E=0.05 @ 60 keV). Our targets included the Sun, the Crab Nebula and pulsar and the black hole binary GRS 1915+105. HEROES was pointed using a day/night star camera system for astrophysical observations and a newly developed Solar Aspect System for solar observations (with a shutter protecting the star camera.) We have successfully detected the Crab Nebula. Analyses for GRS 1915+105 and the Sun are ongoing. In this presentation, I will describe the HEROES mission, the data analysis pipeline and calibrations, preliminary results, and plans for follow-on missions.
ART-XC/SRG: Status of the X-ray Optics Development
The Astronomical Roentgen Telescope (ART) instrument is a hard x-ray instrument with energy response up to 30 keV that is to be launched on board of the Spectrum Roentgen Gamma (SRG) Mission. The instrument consists of seven identical mirror modules coupled with seven CdTe strip focal-plane detectors. The mirror modules are being developed at the Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC.) Each module has approximately 65 sq. cm effective area and an on-axis angular resolution of 30 arcseconds half power diameter (HPD) at 8 keV. The current status of the mirror module development and testing will be presented.
Bendable X-ray Optics for High Resolution Imaging
Current state-of the-art for x-ray optics fabrication calls for either the polishing of massive substrates into high-angular-resolution mirrors or the replication of thin, lower-resolution, mirrors from perfectly figured mandrels. Future X-ray Missions will require a change in this optics fabrication paradigm in order to achieve sub-arcsecond resolution in light-weight optics. One possible approach to this is to start with perfectly flat, light-weight surface, bend it into a perfect cone, form the desired mirror figure by material deposition, and insert the resulting mirror into a telescope structure. Such an approach is currently being investigated at MSFC, and a status report will be presented detailing the results of finite element analyses, bending tests and differential deposition experiments.
ART-XC/SRG: Status of the X-ray Optics Development
The Astronomical Roentgen Telescope (ART) instrument is a hard-x-ray instrument with energy response up to 30 keV that is to be launched on board of the Spectrum Roentgen Gamma (SRG) Mission. The instrument consists of seven identical mirror modules coupled with seven CdTe strip focal-plane detectors. The mirror modules are being developed at the Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC.) Each module has approx. 65 sq. cm effective area and an on-axis angular resolution of 30 arcseconds half power diameter (HPD) at 8 keV. The current status of the mirror module development and testing will be presented.
Status of ART-XC/SRG Instrument
Spectrum Roentgen Gamma (SRG) is an X-ray astrophysical observatory, developed by Russia in collaboration with Germany. The mission will be launched in March 2016 from Baikonur, by a Zenit rocket with a Fregat booster and placed in a 6-month-period halo orbit around L2. The scientific payload consists of two independent telescopes - a soft-x-ray survey instrument, eROSITA, being provided by Germany and a medium-x-ray-energy survey instrument ART-XC being developed by Russia. ART-XC will consist of seven independent, but co-aligned, telescope modules. The NASA Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) is fabricating the flight mirror modules for the ART-XC/SRG. Each mirror module will be aligned with a focal plane CdTe double-sided strip detectors which will operate over the energy range of 6-30 keV, with an angular resolution of less than 1′, a field of view of approximately 34′ and an expected energy resolution of about 10 percent at 14 keV.
ART-XC/SRG: Status of the X-ray Optics Development
The Astronomical Roentgen Telescope (ART) instrument is a hard-x-ray instrument with energy response up to 30 keV that is to be launched on board of the Spectrum Roentgen Gamma (SRG) Mission. The instrument consists of seven identical mirror modules coupled with seven CdTe strip focal-plane detectors. The mirror modules are being developed at the Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC.) Each module has approximately 65 sq. cm effective area and an on-axis angular resolution of 30 arcseconds half power diameter (HPD) at 8 keV. The current status of the mirror module development and testing will be presented.
Development of Mirror Modules for the ART-XC Instrument aboard the Spectrum-Roentgen-Gamma Mission
MSFC is developing eight x-ray mirror modules for the ART-XC instrument on board the SRG Mission. The Engineering Unit tests are successful. MSFC is on schedule to deliver flight units in the November of 2013 and January 2014.
Development of Mirror Modules for the ART-XC Instrument aboard the Spectrum-Roentgen-Gamma Mission
The Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) is developing x-ray mirror modules for the ART-XC instrument on board the Spectrum-Roentgen Gamma Mission. Four of those modules are being fabricated under a Reimbursable Agreement between NASA and the Russian Space Research Institute (IKI.) An additional three flight modules and one spare for the ART-XC Instrument are produced under a Cooperative Agreement between NASA and IKI. The instrument will consist of seven co-aligned x-ray mirror modules with seven corresponding CdTe focal plane detectors. Each module consists of 28 nested thin Ni/Co shells giving an effective area of 65 cm2 at 8 keV, response out to 30 keV, and an angular resolution of 45 arcsec or better HPD. Delivery of the first four modules is scheduled for November 2013, while the remaining three modules will be delivered to IKI in January 2014. We present a status of the ART x-ray module development at MSFC.
Flight Programs and X-ray Optics Development at MSFC
The X-ray astronomy group at the Marshall Space Flight Center is developing electroformed nickel/cobalt x-ray optics for suborbital and orbital experiments. Suborbital instruments include the Focusing X-ray Solar Imager (FOXSI) and Micro-X sounding rocket experiments and the HERO balloon payload. Our current orbital program is the fabrication of a series of mirror modules for the Astronomical Roentgen Telescope (ART) to be launched on board the Russian-German Spectrum Roentgen Gamma Mission (SRG.) The details and status of these various programs are presented. A second component of our work is the development of fabrication techniques and optical metrology to improve the angular resolution of thin shell optics to the arcsecond-level. The status of these x-ray optics technology developments is also presented.
Development of Mirror Modules for the ART-XC Instrument
The Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) is developing x-ray mirror modules for the ART -XC instrument on board the Spectrum-Roentgen-Gamma Mission under a Reimbursable Agreement between NASA and the Russian Space Research Institute (IKI.) ART-XC will consist of seven co-aligned x-ray mirror modules with seven corresponding CdTe focal plane detectors. Currently, four of the modules are being fabricated by the Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC.) Each MSFC module provides an effective area of 65 cm2 at 8 keV, response out to 30 keV, and an angular resolution of 45 arcsec or better HPD. We will present a status of the ART x-ray module development at MSFC.
Development of Grazing Incidence Optics for Neutron Imaging and Scattering
Because of their wave nature, thermal and cold neutrons can be reflected from smooth surfaces at grazing incidence angles, be reflected by multilayer coatings or be refracted at boundaries of different materials. The optical properties of materials are characterized by their refractive indices which are slightly less than unity for most elements and their isotopes in the case of cold and thermal neutrons as well as for x-rays. The motivation for the optics use for neutrons as well as for x-rays is to increase the signal rate and, by virtue of the optic's angular resolution, to improve the signal-to-noise level by reducing the background so the efficiency of the existing neutron sources use can be significantly enhanced. Both refractive and reflective optical techniques developed for x-ray applications can be applied to focus neutron beams. Typically neutron sources have lower brilliance compared to conventional x-ray sources so in order to increase the beam throughput the neutron optics has to be capable of capturing large solid angles. Because of this, the replicated optics techniques developed for x-ray astronomy applications would be a perfect match for neutron applications, so the electroformed nickel optics under development at the Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) can be applied to focus neutron beams. In this technique, nickel mirror shells are electroformed onto a figured and superpolished nickel-plated aluminum cylindrical mandrel from which they are later released by differential thermal contraction. Cylindrical mirrors with different diameters, but the same focal length, can be nested together to increase the system throughput. The throughput can be increased further with the use of the multilayer coatings deposited on the reflectivr surface of the mirror shells. While the electroformed nickel replication technique needs to be adopted for neutron focusing, the technology to coat the inside of cylindrical mirrors with neutron multilayers has to be developed. The availability of these technologies would bring new capabilities to neutron instrumentation and, hence, lead to new scientific breakthroughs. We have established a program to adopt the electroformed nickel replication optics technique for neutron applications and to develop the neutron multilayer replication technology.
The Marshall Space Flight Center Development of Mirror Modules for the ART-XC Instrument aboard the Spectrum-Roentgen-Gamma Mission
The Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) is developing x-ray mirror modules for the ART-XC instrument on board the Spectrum-Roentgen Gamma Mission under a Reimbursable Agreement between NASA and the Russian Space Research Institute (IKI.) ART-XC will consist of seven co-aligned x-ray mirror modules with seven corresponding CdTe focal plane detectors. Currently, four of the modules are being fabricated by the Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC.) Each MSFC module consist of 28 nested Ni/Co thin shells giving an effective area of 65 sq cm at 8 keV, response out to 30 keV, and an angular resolution of 45 arcsec or better HPD. Delivery of these modules to the IKI is scheduled for summer 2013. We present a status of the ART x-ray modules development at the MSFC.
The Marshall Space Flight Center Development of Mirror Modules for the ART-XC Ins1rument Aboard the Spectrum-Roentgen-Gamma Mission
The Spectrum-Rontgen-Gamma (SRG) mission is a Russian-German X-ray astrophysical observatory that carries two co-aligned and complementary X-ray telescope systems. The primary instrument is the German-led extended ROentgen Survey with an Imaging Telescope Array (eROSITA), a 7-module X-ray telescope system that covers the energy range from 0.2-12 keV. The complementary instrument is the Russian-led Astronomical Roentgen Telescope -- X-ray Concentrator (ART-XC or ART), a 7-module X-ray telescope system that provides higher energy coverage, up to 30 keV (with limited sensitivity above 12 keV).
The ART-XC Instrument on Board the SRG Mission
Spectrum Roentgen Gamma (SRG) is an X-ray astrophysical observatory, developed by Russia in collaboration with Germany. The mission will be launched in 2014 from Baikonur, by a Zenit rocket with a Fregat booster and placed in a 6-month-period halo orbit around L2. The scientific payload consists of two independent telescopes . a soft-x-ray survey instrument, eROSITA, being provided by Germany and a medium-x-ray-energy survey instrument ART-XC being developed by Russia. ART-XC will consist of seven independent, but co-aligned, telescope modules with seven corresponding cadmium-telluride focal plane detectors. Each will operate over the approximate energy range of 6- 30 keV, with an angular resolution of <1 ', a field of view of ~30 ' and an energy resolution about 10% at 14 keV. The NASA Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) will fabricate some of the mirror modules, to complement others fabricated by VNIIEF in Russia.