VERT-X: VERTical X-ray raster-scan facility for ATHENA calibration. The concept design

Calibration of the ATHENA telescope is a critical aspect of the project and raises significant difficulties due to the unprecedented size, mass and focal length of the mirror assembly. The VERT-X project, financed by ESA and started in January 2019 by a Consortium led by INAF and which includes EIE, Media Lario Technologies, GPAP, and BCV Progetti, aims to design an innovative calibration facility. In the VERT-X design the parallel beam, needed for calibration, is produced placing a source in the focus of an X-ray collimator. This system is mounted on a raster-scan mechanism which covers the entire ATHENA optics. The compactness of the VERT-X design allows a vertical geometry for the ATHENA calibration facility, with several potential benefits with respect to the long horizontal tube calibration facilities

In flight data of integral assembled solar cells

Triple junction solar cells based on InGaP/GaAs/Ge are the baseline for the space application. Tremendous efforts are in place in these years to lower the manufacturing costs. For these reason CESI developed a low cost solar cell named CTJLC and more recently a new assembly strategy called “Integral Assembly”. This paper reports the achievement in terms of development, characterization and in flight experiences for the new concept of assembly for multijunction solar cells, developed at CESI and experimented on the CNES balloon flight and on board of two Italian cubesat