Skyhaven Wins Follow-on Contract with NASA for a Zero Net Stress Coating Method for X-Ray Mirrors
August 2, 2021 – NASA awarded a follow-on contract to Skyhaven Systems to continue its development work on a zero net-stress coating method for producing X-ray mirrors. Significant progress in high-energy astrophysics has been made possible by space-borne x-ray telescopes. Numerous discoveries in this field have led to an advanced understanding of the universe including, but not limited to, black holes, neutron stars, and supernovas. Advancements in x-ray optics fabrication technologies are now required to enable future discoveries. Improved angular resolution and reduced weight are two major areas where technical advances are sought. The current design approach to meet the above goals requires a large number of mirror segments. These segments are, in part, composed of very thin mirror substrates to achieve a lightweight assembly. While both lightweight and high-resolution mirror fabrication technologies exist independently, achieving both metrics simultaneously has been extremely difficult. The thin, lightweight substrates have imposed technical challenges in terms of fabrication, mounting, design, and coating. Although significant progress has been made in each of these areas of technology, mirror coating still remains problematic. Toward this goal, Skyhaven is developing an iridium deposition process that results in negligible stress on the substrates used in next generation space-borne x-ray mirrors.