Suzaku (ASTRO-EII)
A picture of a fully integrated Astro-E2 before vibration tests at ISAS/JAXA.
NamesASTRO-EII
Mission typeAstronomy
OperatorJAXA / NASA
COSPAR ID2005-025A
SATCAT no.28773
Websitewww.jaxa.jp/projects/sat/astro_e2
Mission duration2 years (planned)
10 years 1 month 23 days (achieved)
Spacecraft properties
Spacecraft typeASTRO
BusASTRO-E
ManufacturerToshiba[1]
Launch mass1,706 kg (3,761 lb) [2]
Dimensions2 metres x 5 metres
Power500 watts
Start of mission
Launch date10 July 2005, 03:30:00 UTC
RocketM-V # 6
Launch siteUchinoura Space Center,
Uchinoura, Kagoshima
End of mission
Deactivated2 September 2015
Decay dateNo earlier than 2020 [3]
Orbital parameters
Reference systemGeocentric orbit
RegimeLow Earth orbit
Perigee altitude550 km (340 mi)
Apogee altitude550 km (340 mi)
Inclination31°
Period96 minutes
Instruments
X-ray Spectrometer-2 (XRS-2)
X-ray Imaging Spectrometer (XIS)
Hard X-ray Detector (HXD)
 
ASTRO-E
The M-V launch vehicle carrying ASTRO-E veering off course after launch on 10 February 2000.
Mission typeAstronomy
OperatorInstitute of Space and Astronautical Science (ISAS) / NASA
COSPAR ID2005-025A
SATCAT no.28773Edit this on Wikidata
Mission durationFailed to orbit
Spacecraft properties
Spacecraft typeASTRO
BusASTRO-E
ManufacturerToshiba
Launch mass1600 kg
Dimensions2 metres x 5 metres
Power500 watts
Start of mission
Launch date10 February 2000, 01:30:00 UTC
RocketM-V # 4
Launch siteKagoshima Space Center
End of mission
Decay dateFailed to orbit
Orbital parameters
Reference systemGeocentric orbit (planned)
RegimeLow Earth orbit
Perigee altitude550 km (340 mi)
Apogee altitude550 km (340 mi)
Inclination31.0°
Period96.0 minutes
Instruments
X-ray Spectrometer (XRS)
X-ray Imaging Spectrometer (XIS)
Hard X-ray Detector (HXD)
X-ray Telescope (XRT)
 

Suzaku (formerly ASTRO-EII) was an X-ray astronomy satellite developed jointly by the Institute of Space and Aeronautical Science at JAXA and NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center to probe high energy X-ray sources, such as supernova explosions, black holes and galactic clusters. It was launched on 10 July 2005 aboard the M-V launch vehicle on the M-V-6 mission. After its successful launch, the satellite was renamed Suzaku after the mythical Vermilion bird of the South.[4]

Just weeks after launch, on 29 July 2005, the first of a series of cooling system malfunctions occurred. These ultimately caused the entire reservoir of liquid helium to boil off into space by 8 August 2005. This effectively shut down the X-ray Spectrometer-2 (XRS-2), which was the spacecraft's primary instrument. The two other instruments, the X-ray Imaging Spectrometer (XIS) and the Hard X-ray Detector (HXD), were unaffected by the malfunction. As a result, another XRS was integrated into the Hitomi X-ray satellite, launched in 2016, which also was lost weeks after launch. A Hitomi successor, XRISM, launched on 7 September 2023, with an X-ray Spectrometer (Resolve) onboard as the primary instrument.

On 26 August 2015, JAXA announced that communications with Suzaku had been intermittent since 1 June 2015, and that the resumption of scientific operations would be difficult to accomplish given the spacecraft's condition.[5] Mission operators decided to complete the mission imminently, as Suzaku had exceeded its design lifespan by eight years at this point. The mission came to an end on 2 September 2015, when JAXA commanded the radio transmitters on Suzaku to switch themselves off.[3][6]

Spacecraft instruments

Suzaku carried high spectroscopic resolution, very wide energy band instruments for detecting signals ranging from soft X-rays up to gamma-rays (0.3–600 keV). High resolution spectroscopy and wide-band are essential factors to physically investigate high energy astronomical phenomena, such as black holes and supernova. One such feature, the K-line (x-ray), may be key to more direct imaging of black holes.

  • X-ray Telescope (XRT)
  • X-ray Spectrometer-2 (XRS-2)
  • X-ray Imaging Spectrometer (XIS)
  • Hard X-ray Detector (HXD)

Results

Suzaku discovered "fossil" light from a supernova remnant.[8]

ASTRO-E

Suzaku was a replacement for ASTRO-E, which was lost in a launch failure. The M-V launch vehicle on the M-V-4 mission launched on 10 February 2000 at 01:30:00 UTC. It experienced a failure of 1st stage engine nozzle 42 seconds into the launch causing control system breakdown and under performance.[9][10] Later stages could not compensate for under performance leaving payload in 250 miles (400 km) x 50 miles (80 km) orbit and subsequent reentry and crashed with its payload into the Indian Ocean.[11][12]

References

  1. ↑ "Encyclopedia Astronautica – Toshiba". astronautix.com. Archived from the original on 29 November 2010. Retrieved 9 September 2015.
  2. ↑ Kazuhisa Mitsuda (25 January 2007). "The X-Ray Observatory Suzaku". Astronomical Society of Japan. 59 (SP1): S1–S7. arXiv:astro-ph/0608100. Bibcode:2007PASJ...59....1T. doi:10.1093/pasj/59.1.1. S2CID 17354373. Retrieved 4 October 2010.
  3. 1 2 Stephen Clark (4 September 2015). "Japanese X-ray observatory completes decade-long mission". Spaceflight Now. Retrieved 9 September 2015.
  4. ↑ すざく（朱雀、Suzaku）命名の理由 2005 JAXA
  5. ↑ "X-ray Astronomy Satellite "Suzaku" Completes Scientific Mission". National Research and Development Agency (JAXA). 26 August 2015. Retrieved 9 September 2015.
  6. ↑ "Suzaku Mission Declared Complete". Goddard Space Flight Center. NASA. 28 August 2015. Retrieved 4 September 2015. Public Domain This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
  7. 1 2 Tadayuki Takahashi (25 January 2007). "Hard X-ray Detector (HXD) on Board Suzaku". Astronomical Society of Japan. 59 (SP1): S23–S33. doi:10.1093/pasj/59.sp1.S23. Retrieved 4 October 2010.
  8. ↑ Suzaku Finds "Fossil" Fireballs from Supernovae 12.30.09 Public Domain This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
  9. ↑ "History ｜ ISAS". History. Retrieved 2 January 2024.
  10. ↑ "1 How did M-V-4 fly?". www.isas.jaxa.jp. Retrieved 2 January 2024.
  11. ↑ Ray, Justin (10 February 2000). "Spaceflight Now | Breaking News | Astro-E believed lost following botched launch". spaceflightnow.com. Retrieved 2 January 2024.
  12. ↑ Kevin Boyce (2005). "ASTRO-E Launch". NASA Goddard Space Flight Center. Retrieved 2 March 2010. Public Domain This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.

Further reading

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