Optics Requirements For The Generation-X X-Ray Telescope

US, European, and Japanese space agencies each now operate successful X-ray missions -- NASA s Chandra, ESA s XMM-Newton, and JAXA s Suzaku observatories. Recently these agencies began a collaboration to develop the next major X-ray astrophysics facility -- the International X-ray Observatory (IXO) -- for launch around 2020. IXO will provide an order-of-magnitude increase in effective area, while maintaining good (but not sub-arcsecond) angular resolution. X-ray astronomy beyond IXO will require optics with even larger aperture areas and much better angular resolution. We are currently conducting a NASA strategic mission concept study to identify technology issues and to formulate a technology roadmap for a mission -- Generation-X (Gen-X) -- to provide these capabilities. Achieving large X-ray collecting areas in a space observatory requires extremely lightweight mirrors