X-Ray Calibration Facility (XRCF)

XRCF Contamination Control / Clean Rooms

Cleanrooms at Marshall's X-ray Calibration Facility (XRCF) were constructed to keep the advanced x-ray astrophysics facility's four pairs of 'grazing incidence' x-ray mirrors and state-of-the-art photon imaging detectors free of contamination.

The XRCF clean room complex consists of a 42' X 51' class 10,000 room and a 63' X 87' class 2000 room which is connected to the XRCF optically clean instrument chamber. Six 95,000 cfm fans provide air to ceiling mounted HEPA filters, which distribute filtered air at 90 ft/min., exiting through a grating floor to a plenum.

The optically compatible cleanroom has been tested to ensure that outgassing of the construction materials will not contribute significantly to the molecular deposition rate of the cleanroom.

Material Selection Guidelines for Temporary Test Items Used in the X-Ray Calibration Facility (XRCF) Vacuum System at Ambient Temperature and Less

MSFC-SPEC-1238: Thermal vacuum bakeout specification for contamination sensitive hardware

MSFC-SPEC-1443: Outgassing test for non-metallic materials associated with sensitive optical surfaces in a space environment