AEROSPACE CHINA

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China Aerospace Academy of Systems Science and Engineering

ISSN 1671-0940

CN 11-4673/V

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AEROSPACE CHINA ›› 2017, Vol. 18 ›› Issue (3): 3-10.doi: 10.3969/j.issn.1671-0940.2017.03.001

• Research Articles •     Next Articles

In-Orbit Calibration and Data Analysis of China’s First Grazing Incidence Focusing X-Ray Pulsar Telescope

  

  1. 1 Beijing Institute of Control Engineering, Beijing 100090
    2 Science and Technology on Space Intelligent Control Laboratory, Beijing 100190
  • Online:2017-09-17 Published:2019-11-28
  • About author:LV Zhengxin (1977- ), graduated from Tianjin University. He has been working at the Beijing Institute of Control Engineering of China Academy of Space Technology since 2000. He serves as the Director of Research Department of Optical Sensor. As a senior engineer, he is engaged in work related to space optical sensor design and X-ray pulsar navigation.

Abstract: The grazing incidence focusing X-ray pulsar telescope (iFXPT), as the main payload of the X-ray Pulsar Navigation Test Satellite (XPNAV-1), will have great significance on China’s space scientific exploration and X-ray pulsar navigation. With PSR B0531+21 (Crab Pulsar) as the observation target, the pulsar profile has been recovered based on the data obtained by iFXPT, realizing the main objective of “observing” PSR B0531+21 for the first time in China. 
This payload mainly consists of the Wolter-I X-ray optics, silicon drift detector, magnetic deflector, electronics, high-energy particle shield and high-stability structures. Currently, the iFXPT, with its good in-orbit performance, has obtained a considerable observation data. The effective area, sensitivity and energy response have been calibrated both on ground and in-orbit, demonstrating a high degree of consistency. Meanwhile, the in-orbit observation data and information for pulsar navigation has also been analyzed simultaneously. As a result, the feasibility of the exploration scheme and the performance of the telescope have been fully validated.