Constellation-X Mission Design and Technology Update
Michael Garcia
Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory
garcia@cfa.harvard.edu
Additional authors: Kim Weaver, Jay Bookbinder, Nick White, Harvey Tananbaum, Rob Petre, Rich Kelley, Paul Reid, William Zhang, Kathy Flanagan, Fiona Harrison, and the Con-X Team.
We describe the basic technologies and designs used in the Constellation X-ray Mission. Con-X is one of the two flagship observatories that are central to NASAs 'Beyond Einstein' space science program for the next decade. Con-X is primarily an X-ray Spectroscopy mission, designed to deliver an increase in spectral sensitivity of over 100 relative to current missions. This will allow the collection of high quality 0.25 keV - 40 keV spectra of all classes of X-ray sources over a wide range of luminosities and redshifts. This should lead to many detections of highly relativistic effects near the event horizons of black holes, and will allow the detection of the 'hidden baryons' in the IGM and clusters of galaxies out to $z \sim 2$. A great part of this sensitivity gain is enabled by an X-ray mirror with collecting area $\sim 10$\ times larger than any previous mission. The remainder of the sensitivity increase comes from the focal plane detectors and a high throughput reflective grating array. An array of X-ray calorimeters will allow imaging and few eV spectral resolution, and an array of X-ray CCDs will read out the grating array. A co-aligned set of high energy X-ray telescopes and detectors will extend the energy range of the mission up to $\sim 40$keV. New scientific discoveries from Chandra and XMM have increased the breath of the science planned with Con-X, and lead to new assessments of the mission capabilities. Advances in technologies may also enhance the mission design. The delay in NASAs Beyond Einstein program is allowing an update of the mission science drivers and a re-assessment of the mission design parameters. We briefly summarize the design of the mission and possible changes inspired by advances in science and technologies.
