[en] Grazing incidence mirrors used to focus synchrotron radiation beams through small distant apertures have severe optical requirements. The surface distortion due to heat loading of the first mirror in a bending magnet beam line is of particular concern when a large fraction of the incident beam is absorbed. In this paper we discuss mirror design considerations involved in minimizing the thermal/mechanical loading on vertically deflecting first surface mirrors required for SPEAR synchrotron radiation beam lines. Topics include selection of mirror material and cooling method, the choice of SiC for the substrate, optimization of the thickness, and the design of the mirror holder and cooling mechanism. Results obtained using two-dimensional, finite-element thermal/mechanical distortion analysis are presented for the case of a 6⁰ grazing incidence SiC mirror absorbing up to 260 W at Beam Line VIII on the SPEAR ring. Test descriptions and results are given for the material used to thermally couple this SiC mirror to a water-cooled block. The interface material is limited to applications for which the equivalent normal heat load is less than 20 W/cm²