XMM-Newton [ESA]
XMM-Newton (X-Ray Multi Mirror Observatory) carries three very advanced X-ray telescopes. They each contain 58 high-precision concentric mirrors, delicately nested to offer the largest collecting area possible to catch the elusive X-rays. These Mirror Modules allow XMM-Newton to detect millions of sources, far greater than any previous X-ray mission.
The spacecraft consists of main sections:
This 'tri-clops', with its golden eyes is more than 10 meters long, just fitting under the Ariane-5 fairing for its launch. Its pair of solar panels have a 16 meter span.
The spacecraft's design features extremely high mechanical stability. Its position and control systems allow it to point at targets in the sky over long periods with a remarkable pointing accuracy of 0.25 arcsec over a ten second interval.
X-rays can only be focused by changing their course accomplished by bouncing them off a surface at a shallow angle. XMM-Newton uses barrel-shaped mirrors angled along their length to focus them on the detectors. The three 'mirror modules' each have 58 wafer-thin nickel mirrors, which are gold-plated and nested in each other just a few millimeters apart. The total mirror surface area exceeds 120 m², larger than a tennis court. Constructing the mirror modules to such a level of perfection is one of the programme's greatest achievements.
XMM-Newton also carries an 'Optical Monitor' which will observe in the visible and ultraviolet the same region of the sky as the targeted X-ray sources.
The science instruments are:
In March 2023 ESA extended to operations until December 2026, and indicatively until end of 2029.
Nation: | Europe |
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Type / Application: | Astronomy, X-Ray |
Operator: | ESA |
Contractors: | Daimler Chrysler Aerospace Dornier Satellitensysteme |
Equipment: | 3 Wolter telescopes, 30-cm aperture Ritchey-Chretien telescope, EPIC, RGS, OM, ERMS |
Configuration: | |
Propulsion: | |
Power: | 2 deployable solar arrays, batteries |
Lifetime: | 2 years (design); still active |
Mass: | 3800 kg |
Orbit: | 7417 km × 113678 km, 38.8° |
Satellite | COSPAR | Date | LS | Launch Vehicle | Remarks | |
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XMM-Newton | 1999-066A | 10.12.1999 | Ko ELA-3 | Ariane-5G |