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Astro E
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Astro-E

Astro-E

Japanese x-ray astronomy satellite. ASTRO-E was to be fifth in a series of Japanese astronomy satellites devoted to observations of celestial X-ray sources. Astronomy, X-Ray satellite operated by ISAS, NASA, Japan. Launched 2000 - 2005.

AKA: Suzaku. Status: Operational 2000. First Launch: 2000-02-10. Last Launch: 2005-07-10. Number: 2 . Gross mass: 1,650 kg (3,630 lb).

This was a joint Japanese-US mission, with the US contributing significantly to two of the three types of instruments on-board. It was developed at Japan's Institute of Space and Astronautical Science (ISAS) in collaboration with other Japanese institutions, as well as NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).

ASTRO-E was designed for broad-band, high-sensitivity, high-resolution spectroscopy. Its instruments were not only sensitive to both low and high energy X-rays, but could distinguish very small differences in the energy of the X-ray photons detected.

ASTRO-E was to cover an energy range of 0.4 to 700 keV using three kinds of instruments with the following energy ranges:

ASTRO-E was planned to answer questions regarding the creation of the chemical elements, the consequences of matter falling onto black holes, and the processes of heating gases to X-ray emitting temperatures.

The 1,650 kg spacecraft was to conduct a five year mission in a 550 km circular orbit 550 km. Since the XRS had to be cooled to nearly absolute zero - 0.06 Kelvin - the instrument would only operate for the first two years of the mission while the on-board supply of solid neon coolant lasted.

ASTRO-E was to complement NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory and ESA's XMM X-ray Multi-Mirror (XMM) spacecraft.

It was customary for Institute of Space and Astronautical Science satellites to have two names, one given before launch and one after. The pre-launch name was a project name that designated the series the satellite belonged to and a letter that designated what number that satellite was to be in that series. ASTRO-E was to be the fifth satellite in the 'ASTRO' series. The ASTRO series of satellites were often for cosmic X-ray astronomy, although one was a Solar X-ray astronomy satellite and ASTRO-F would be an infrared astronomy mission. Other series included 'MUSES' (engineering led projects), 'SOLAR', and 'PLANET'. The post-launch name was a proper name, chosen shortly after launch. Previous X-ray astronomy satellites had been renamed Hakucho (Swan, or the constellation Cygnus; was to be CORSA-B), Tenma (Heavenly Horse, or the constellation Pegasus; ASTRO-B), Ginga (Galaxy; ASTRO-C), and ASCA (ASTRO-D). The name 'ASCA' was a pun --- it was an acronym for Advanced Satellite for Cosmology and Astrophysics, and at the same time, sounded like the name from Japanese history, Asuka. Asuka was a region near Nara, and the name for a period in Japanese history (in the 7th century) when the Asuka region was her capital, and also the culture of that era.


More at: Astro E.

Family: Astronomy, X-ray astronomy satellite. Country: Japan. Launch Vehicles: M-V. Launch Sites: Kagoshima, Kagoshima M-V. Agency: ISAS. Bibliography: 2, 552, 554, 12117.
Photo Gallery

SuzakuSuzaku
Credit: Manufacturer Image



2000 February 10 - . 01:30 GMT - . Launch Site: Kagoshima. Launch Complex: Kagoshima M-V. Launch Vehicle: M-V. FAILURE: First stage failure. An anomalous vibration was detected 25 seconds after launch. At 41 seconds ceramic heat shields in the first stage nozzle broke and fell off, and thrust vector control on the nozzle was lost.. Failed Stage: 1.
2005 July 10 - . 03:30 GMT - . Launch Site: Kagoshima. Launch Complex: Kagoshima M-V. Launch Vehicle: M-V.

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