The Marshall Grazing Incidence X-ray Spectrometer (MaGIXS) is a sounding rocket experiment that is designed to study the frequency of heating in solar active regions, by observing the soft X-ray spectrum of the Sun from 6 to 24 Angstrom (0.5 to 2keV). MaGIXS optical design comprises a Wolter-I telescope, a slit-jaw imaging system, an identical pair of grazing incidence paraboloid mirrors, a planar grating and a CCD camera. The novel MaGIXS optomechanical layout has the optical elements placed in series, which posed unique challenges in the alignment between the optical sub-assemblies. Alignment of X-ray mirrors, component level testing, integration and final end-to-end calibrations are performed at the X-ray Cryogenic Facility (XRCF) at NASA Marshall Space Flight Center. The first successful launch of MaGIXS was flown on July 30, 2021, from White Sands Missile Range, NM.

In this talk I will discuss MaGIXS’s science motivation, describe the X-ray instrumentation development, which includes ground testing and calibration. I will highlight the recent technological advances related to fabricating and optimizing X-ray optical systems, as well as breakthroughs in inversion methodologies for overlapped spatial-spectral images that paves way for next generation “Slitless Imaging Spectroscopy”. I will present details of the first flight, interesting discoveries, and roadmap for upcoming missions.