Study of X-ray optics

Abstract

The testing is reported of a polished Kanigen coated beryllium mirror in a soft X-ray telescope to be flown on a Skylark sounding rocket. This test involved inserting the telescope in a 220 foot long vacuum line and taking photographs of an X-ray resolution source. These photographs were then used to evaluate the performance of the telescope mirror as a function of distance from the focal plane and the angular distance off the telescope axis. A second test was made in which a point source was used to study the imaging characteristics by means of a pinhole and proportional counter placed in the telescope focal plane. A third test was conducted using a position sensitive detector. The efficiency and resolution was increased by polishing.