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Astro E



General


Designation n/a
Launch date 10 Feb 2000
Country of origin Japan
Mission Scientific: X-ray astronomy
Perigee/Apogee planned: 550 km
Inclination planned: 31°
Period  
Launch vehicle Mu 5 #26

Cost: $107 million not including $60 for the launch vehicle

End of life


Out of service 10 Feb 2000
Cause Launcher failure, suborbital orbit
Decay yes

The launcher and platform was provided by ISAS and other Japanese organisations. The instruments were mainly provided by NASA's GSFC and Univeristy of Tokyo. It would have complemented Chandra by capturing the spectrum of X-ray sources (composition, temperature, velocity and direction of the gas that is emitting the x-ray light).

External resources


http://universe.gsfc.nasa.gov/press/astroe/

http://lheawww.gsfc.nasa.gov/docs/xray/astroe/astroe.html

Technical data



Specifications


Prime contractor ISAS
Platform  
Mass at launch  
Payload mass 1650 kg
Dimension 6.5 x 5.4 x 2.1 m
Solar array  
Stabilization  
DC power  
Design lifetime 5 years

3 main instruments:

X-Ray Spectrometer (XRS)


Energy range: 0.4-10 keV
The instrument is cooled at -273°C to measure the temperature of photons
2-year lifetime

X-ray Imaging Spectrometer (XIS)


Energy range: 0.3-12 keV


Hard X-ray Dectector (HXD)


Energy range: 10-700 keV

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