Space optics with silicon wafers and slumped glass

The future space X-ray astronomy imaging missions require very large collecting areas at still fine angular resolution and reasonable weight. The novel substrates for X-ray mirrors such as Silicon wafers and thin thermally formed glass enable wide applications of precise and very light weight (volume densities 2.3 to 2.5 gcm -3 ) optics. The recent status of novel technologies as well as developed test samples with emphasis on precise optical surfaces based on novel materials and their space applications is presented and discussed.