The Chandra X-ray Observatory
Gordon P. Garmire Penn State University
Chandra Symposium, October 16- 17, 2010
The black holes of nature are the most perfect macroscopic objects there are in the universe: the only elements in their construction are our concepts of space and time. Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar
1 Outline
• A brief history of the observatory • The early years • The big test • Construction at last • Troubles along the way • Testing • Launch • Results
2 A brief history
• 1960 Giacconi and Rossi paper on X-Ray Telescope Design • 1970 Large Orbiting X-Ray Telescope (LOXT) proposal submitted • 1972 project cancelled, but _ LOXT phoenix-like emerges to become the Einstein Observatory • 1976 Giacconi and Tananbaum submit proposal for 1.2 m X-ray Observatory • 1977 study group formed by NASA to define a 1.2 m X-Ray Observatory • 1985 Instrument selection of AXAF • 1991 1.2 mirror “proves” it can be done • 1992 De-scope from 6 to 4 mirrors and go to high earth orbit. • 1997 High Resolution Mirror Assembly completed • 1998 AXAF calibrated and ready for assembly • 1999 AXAF/Chandra launched by STS93 and begins operation
The Early Years
• 1980 Mission Definition Team provides baseline AXAF • 1985 Instrument selection • Selling the program to NASA and to Congress took a lot of politicking • The Great Observatories Program of NASA (C. Pellerin in particular) helped a lot (Hubble, AXAF, CGRO and SIRTIF).
3 The big test
• Congress asks NASA to prove it can make a mirror to AXAF spec in three years • NASA accepts the challenge – failure would mean cancellation! • The mirrors were completed and tested by October 1991 on schedule, and met the requirements of the AXAF program – a tribute to an enormous effort by Perkin Elmer (Hughes Danbury Optical Systems) and the scientists involved, led by Dr. Leon van Speybroeck, the AXAF telescope scientist.
Troubles along the way
• OMB and Congress threaten to cancel AXAF • NASA convinces scientists to de-scope the mission • De-scoped mission looks viable with some loss of capability – 4 mirrors instead of 6 – Two focal plane instruments instead of four – High Earth orbit –no servicing possible
4 Schematic of an X-Ray Telescope
The Test Mirror Assembled
5 The spacecraft epoxy structure
The P1 mirror before coating
6 The P3 mirror being ground
At the coating lab
7 Assembly of Mirror pairs at Kodak
The telescope tube – fiber epoxy
8 The objective gratings
Does it fit?
9 The High Resolution Camera
The HRC Camera and Electronics
10 The Full ACIS Instrument
11 ACIS Development Team
Penn State MIT CSR (MKI) MIT Lincoln Gordon Garmire, IPI George Ricker, Dep. IPI Jim Francis Bernie Kosicki Bill Mayer, Manager Gordon Gong Barry Burke John Nousek, Lead Co-I Mark Bautz, Proj. Sci. Dorothy Gordon Jim Gregory Pat Broos Claude Canizares Phil Gray Al Pillsbury David Burrows Steve Jones Pete Tappan Lockheed-Martin George Chartas Steve Kissel Brian Klatt Lloyd Oldham Eric Feigelson Gregory Prigozhin Matt Smith Neil Tice Audrey Garmire Herb Manning Eric Kintner Scott Anderson Scott Koch Fred Baganoff Demitrios Athens Ed Sedivy George Pavlov Takashi Isobe Beverly LaMarr Larry Campbell Leisa Townsley Hale Bradt Mike Pivovaroff Eric Cocklin George Clark Mike Doucette JPL/Caltech S. Andy Collins Catherine Grant Saul Rappaport Fred Kasperian Steve Pravdo Kaori Nishikida John Doty Dan Hanlon +SAO & MSFC! Albert Metzger Robert Goeke Fred Miller Wallace Sargent Ed Boughan Jim O’ Connor Rick Foster Ann Davis Peter Ford Bob Blozie
The ACIS Door Caper
• ACIS door design was excellent, but it relied on paraffin actuators with self- destructive tendencies.
Door actuators
12 At the Calibration Facility
Some things are hard to reach
13 Assembling the Telescope to the S/C
Camera integration at BBRC
14 Attaching the Cameras to the S/C
Chandra X-ray Observatory Final Exam of Chandra Spacecraft
CXC
15 The ACIS Door Caper
• ACIS door design was excellent, but it relied on paraffin actuators with self- destructive tendencies.
Door actuators
22 September 2009 Chandra's First Decade MWB for Gordon Garmire
Chandra X-ray Observatory ACIS Test Unit
CXC
16 Complete Assembly with booster
Launch!
17 The Crew
Chandra ready for IUS burn
18 AXAF Launch sequence
The door opened!
19 The Chandra and HST Crab Nebula
20 The oxygen-rich SNR G292.0+1.8 Peter Romig, David Burrows, Sangwook Park, Jack Hughes and Pat Slane
The mysterious central object in RCW103
21 1E0657 colliding clusters
22 Acknowledgments
The pictures of the construction were obtained from the Chandra Science Center (http://chandra.harvard.edu/resources/chandraMission.html) and from Robert Burke & Blake Bullock at Northrop Grumman Aerospace Systems and Mark Bautz, MIT The SgrA* image is from F. Baganoff, MIT The SNR RCW103 from A. Garmire, PSU The Crab Nebula from D. Burrows (PSU) and J. Hester (AZS) The 1E0675 image from the Chandra Science Center Archives NASA/SAO contract SV4-74018