Astro E, E2 (Suzaku)

Astro E [ISAS]

Astro E is a X-ray astronomy satellite bulit as a joint effort of NASA and the Japanese space agency ISAS. Observing the X-ray spectrum of the distant universe, Astro-E was to open a new window into the workings of black holes, neutron stars, active galaxies, and other very energetic objects.

Astro E featured four instruments, among them NASA's XRS spectrometer inherited from the cancelled AXAF-S mission.

Astro E was lost in a launch vehicle failure in February 2000, but a repeat Astro E2 (renamed Suzaku after successful launch) is being built to conduct the mission. It was launched in July 2005 aboard a Japanese improved M-5 rocket.

Astro E / E2 features following experiments:

• XRS (Spectrometer) - XRS-2 in Astro-E2
• XIS (X-ray camera)
• HXD (Hard X-ray detector)
• XRT (X-Ray Telescope)

Shortly after launch, Suzaku lost the liquid Helium for cooling the XRS-2 detector, severly impacting the resolution of the instrument. All other instruments are operable.