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Astro E2


Also called Suzaku

General


Designation 28773 / 05025A
Launch date 10 Jul 2005
Country of origin Japan
Mission Scientific: X-ray astronomy
Perigee/Apogee 565 km
Inclination 31.4°
Period 96 min
Launch vehicle Mu 5 #28

To replace Astro E

To study the structures and movement of black holes and galaxies (in the 0.3-700 keV X-ray band), find out when and where their chemical elements are created and what happens when matter falls into a black hole.

Around Aug 7 2005, a leak in the cooler system resulted in loss of the liquid helium, which will prevent the XRS from operating in the planned high resolution spectra.


External resources


http://www.nasa.gov/astro-e2

http://www.isas.jaxa.jp/e/enterp/missions/suzaku/
sat-index articles


Technical data



Specifications


Prime contractor  
Platform  
Mass at launch 1700 kg
Mass in orbit  
Dimension 4.5 m length (6.5 m deployed)
Solar array  
Stabilization  
DC power  
Design lifetime 5 years

Primary instrument: high-resolution X-ray Spectrometer (XRS), developed jointly by NASA Goddard and ISAS. The XRS measures the heat created by the individual X-ray photons (light particles) it collects. It is a single telescope made of reflecting tubular (40 cm diameter) foils and with a focal length of 4.5 m capable of detecting 0.5-12 keV X-rays. Its detector assembly consists of an array of 32 micro-calorimeters held at a cryogenic 0.06 K (i.e., about -460°F or -273°C).
The instrument failed in the first month following its launch.

Has 4 other X-ray Imaging Spectrometer (XIS) instruments.
0.4 m telescopes

It is the first X-ray satellite to carry a microcalorimeter, providing high resolution spectra from a detector refrigerated to 1.5 milliKelvin.

Downlink: 2256.22 MHz

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