HXDS Overview

The HRMA X-ray Detection System (HXDS) was developed and installed by SAO at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) X-ray Calibration Facility (XRCF)in Huntsville, Alabama, where it provided the tools necessary to acquire x-ray data used for calibration of the AXAF High Resolution Mirror Assembly (HRMA) and focal plane instruments.

The HXDS is comprised of three x-ray detector subsystems; 1) the HRMA X-ray Detector Assembly (HXDA) positioned at the focal plane of the HRMA, 2) the Beam Normalization Detectors - HRMA located a few feet in front of the mirrors, and 3) the Beam Normalization Detectors at Area 500 (BND-500).

The HXDS utilized three different types of detector instruments in its subsystems; 1) the High Speed Imager which is a micro-channel plate based imaging detector developed by SAO using MCP's supplied by Galileo Electro-Optics (currently known as Burle Electro-Optics); 2) Flow Proportional counters with bodies manufactured by LND and window structures developed by SAO using Polyimide  thin film materials from the Luxel Corporation ; and 3) Solid State Detectors based on Canberra's Ultra-LEGe SSD.

The command and control of all motor stages, detectors, detector electronics, the detector gas supply system and the data acquisition is performed by the HXDS X-ray Data Acquisition and Control System (XDACS) running from a centralized Sun workstation.  This workstation talked to each of the three Pulse Height Analysis (PHA) computers, the HSI instrument computer, and all of the motor controllers. The software was developed and operated by SAO's Mission Support Team (MST).

PICTURES:

Calibration of Instruments

Calibration of the HXDS instruments takes place at the SAO Porter Exchange laboratory (look for an overview in the near future) and PTB-BESSY (don't forget to check out the "After Dark" pictures in this section) in Berlin, Germany. Visit the HXDS Data Analysis Page.

HXDS Post Calibration Installation at the XRCF

Following post calibration activities, the HXDS detectors are brought back to the XRCF.

HXDS Related Abstracts & Papers

AXAF Presentation Overview

The following scanned images of PR prints were supplied by the folks at TRW.  They are supplied here as an informative overview of AXAF.
  
AXAF01 AXAF02 AXAF03 AXAF04 AXAF05 AXAF06 AXAF07
AXAF08 AXAF09 AXAF10 AXAF11 AXAF12 AXAF13 AXAF14
AXAF15 AXAF16 AXAF17 AXAF18 AXAF19

The Advanced X-ray Astrophysics Facility (AXAF) was renamed by NASA as the Chandra X-ray Observatory in December of 1998. An excellent overview of the Chandra is presented at the AXAF Science Center web site found "here".
 

LAUNCHED !!!! (click here for proof)

Chandra was succesfully launched aboard NASA's Shuttle shortly after midnight, Friday the 23rd of July, 1999. The following are reports and articles written in the first few days since flight:
 


Link to Floriday Today's Space Online web site as a good site for the latest KSC launch news.

FIRST LIGHT !!! This is the first official image taken with the ACIS camera !!

For more information on first light, click here!

This page last updated April 07, 2000