Calibration sources and filters of the soft x-ray spectrometer instrument on the Hitomi spacecraft
Tsujimoto, Masahiro; Eckart, Megan E.; Leutenegger, Maurice A.; Porter, Frederick S.; Yamasaki, Noriko Y.; Costantini, Elisa; de Vries, Cor P.; Kilbourne, Caroline; Haas, Daniel; Herder, Jan-Willem den; Paltani, Stephane; Dercksen, Johannes P. C.; Dubbeldam, Luc; Frericks, Martin; Laubert, Phillip P.; van Loon, Sander; Lowes, Paul; McCalden, Alec J.; Ruijter, Jos; Wolfs, Rob
Netherlands, Germany, Japan, Switzerland, United States
Abstract
The soft x-ray spectrometer was designed to operate onboard the Japanese Hitomi (ASTRO-H) satellite. In the beam of this instrument, there was a filter wheel containing x-ray filters and active calibration sources. This paper describes this filter wheel. We show the purpose of the filters and the preflight calibrations performed. In addition, we present the calibration source design and measured performance. Finally, we conclude with prospects for future missions.