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Post Info TOPIC: Astro-EII
Blobrana


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Suzaku
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The 23rd scientific satellite "Suzaku," which was launched by JAXA from the Uchinoura Space Centre on July 10, 2005 (Japan Standard Time, JST), has completed its initial verification operations of the satellite and its onboard equipment, and is now performing test observations.
JAXA made an international Announcement of Opportunity (AO) on its website for researchers on Nov. 17, 2005 (JST), to start international AO observations in April, 2006.


Suzaku X-ray image of the supernova remnant Cassiopeia A.

JAXA, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), and the European Space Agency (ESA) are in charge of receiving applications and selecting proposals. Researchers from the U.S. and EU countries are asked to submit their proposals to NASA and the ESA, respectively, and all other researchers are to submit their proposals to JAXA. The First Announcement of Opportunity (AO-1) is for a one year observation period starting on April 1, 2005, and its submission deadline is at noon on January 7 (Sat.), 2006 (JST).
The selection will be made by the end of March 2006 (JST).


X-ray image of the cluster of galaxies Abell 2052.

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For researchers who are preparing to propose an observation project, JAXA published some initial observation data on Dec. 2 (Fri). To date, the Suzaku has observed over 50 astronomical bodies including nearby fixed stars, supernova remnants, active galactic nuclei where a gigantic black hole is believed to exist, and galaxy clusters (clusters of millions of galaxies). Among them, they chose to published the following seven pieces of observation data, which typically show the observation ability of the "Suzaku."

- Supernova remnant E0102.2-7219
- Radio galaxy Centaurus A (Cen A)
- Galaxy cluster Abell 2052
- Pulsar PSR 1509-58
- Fixed star Eta Carinae
- Supernova remnant Cassiopeia A (Cas A)
- North Ecliptic Pole

The above data and necessary software for data analysis can be downloaded from the website for Suzaku researchers.
Observation results by the Suzaku have also been reported at international research meetings

Current status of Suzaku, at Einstein's Legacy, Munich, Germany Conference on Nov. 10/05 PDF
The Suzaku X-Ray Observatory, Six Years of Science with Chandra, Boston Conference on Nov. 02/05 PDF
Current status of Suzaku, The X-ray Universe 2005, El Escorial, Spain Conference on Sep. 30/05 PDF

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Blobrana


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The Suzaku mission has sent back its first light images thanks from the onboard four X-Ray Telescopes (XRTs) built by NASA's Goddard Space Flight Centre.
The XRTs focus incoming x-rays onto the four X-Ray Spectrometer instruments onboard Suzaku, formerly known as Astro-E2.

The four X-ray telescopes, together with a set of four cameras, performed flawlessly, capturing the image of supernova 1987A in the Small Magellanic Cloud.
Supernovae are the cosmic factories of the most important elements in the Universe, and supernova remnants provide the crucial information on how they get disseminated in space. They are also spectacular objects and the ideal targets to "show off" the capabilities of the detectors.

"I'm extremely pleased to see how the four telescopes performed. Obviously it will take more time to study their performance in detail, but the first light images confirmed our expectations based on ground calibration" - Dr. Peter Serlemitsos of the X-Ray Astrophysics Branch at GSFC.

The four XRTs are made with foils coated with about two pounds of gold with a thickness of only 2,000 angstroms, which is about 1/200 to 1/600 the thickness of a human hair. X-rays bounce off the gold and are reflected toward the telescope detectors.
The four Charge-Coupled Devices detectors that capture the X-rays bounced by the telescopes are similar to those onboard other missions, such as Chandra and XMM-Newton, although these are new and have not yet been subjected to the rigors of space.
The new instruments will allow scientists to study spectra and images of extended and faint sources like supernova remnants or cluster of galaxies.

It has been a bittersweet few weeks for the Suzaku team because another instrument on board, a high spectral resolution calorimeter built at GSFC, stopped functioning due to a problem with the cryogenics. The incident is still under investigation.
Despite this setback, the rest of the Suzaku mission is proceeding on schedule with first light from the third set of detectors on board – two hard X-ray detectors capable of capturing the very high-energy photons – expected shortly.

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Blobrana


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RE: Suzaku anomaly
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The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) has been carrying out initial operation checks of the Suzaku spacecraft including turning on the observation equipment after completing the solar array paddle deployment, three-axis control mode establishment, and X-ray telescope extension.

On August 8, JAXA found the following anomaly in the X-ray Spectrometer,(one of the three sets of onboard observation equipment), which was developed in cooperation with NASA and other organizations.

The XRS is structured to cool down its X-ray micro-calorimeter (or the detector) through freezing to the absolute temperature of 60 milli-degrees (or minus 273.09 degrees Celsius) for its operations.
The freezer is further wrapped by liquid helium and solid neon. In the early stage, the cooling equipment was smoothly prepared for the operation, and the detector successfully reached 60 milli-degrees, which is a world record for a low temperature, and X-ray spectrum performance was verified as being scheduled.

However, on August 8, it was found that all loaded liquid helium had evaporated. As a result of this anomaly, the detector cannot be cooled down; therefore, the scheduled observations will be very difficult to carry out. The cause of the anomaly is currently under investigation.

The other onboard observation equipment is in good order. The spacecraft will be ready for observations soon.

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Blobrana


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RE: Suzaku
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The scientific satellite Suzaku (ASTRO-EII) is operating smoothly.

Between around 5:07 and 5:12 a.m. on July 21 (JST), the final perigee up manoeuvre (to increase the perigee altitude) was carried out and successfully completed.
Through this manoeuvre, the satellite is now in a circular orbit at an altitude of approximately 570 km, which is its scheduled orbit.
After the initial operations, such as tests for onboard equipment, are carried out, observations are scheduled to start in mid August.


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Blobrana


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Following a tradition of renaming satellites after their successful launch, Astro-E2 has been newly dubbed Suzaku.
Suzaku, a phoenix-like deity in mythology associated with the southern part of the sky, is a 'Red Bird'.


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Blobrana


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RE: Astro-EII
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The M-V Launch Vehicle No. 6 (M-V-6) with the 23rd scientific satellite (ASTRO-EII) onboard was launched at 12:30 p.m. on July 10, 2005 (Japan Standard Time, JST) from the Uchinoura Space Centre (USC).
The launcher was set to a vertical angle of 80.2 degrees, and the flight azimuth was 87.6 degrees.



The launch vehicle flew smoothly, and the third stage motor was ignited at 205 seconds after lift-off. The third stage flight was also smooth, and after its motor burnout, it was confirmed to be safely injected into its scheduled orbit of an apogee altitude of approximately 247 km and a perigee altitude of approximately 560 km with an inclination of approximately 31.4 degrees.

JAXA received signals from the ASTRO-EII at the Santiago tracking station and the USC, and from those signals we verified that the ASTRO-EII had successfully separated.

The in-orbit ASTRO-EII was given the International Designator of 2005-025A and a nickname of "Suzaku."

The weather at the time of the launch was slightly cloudy with a wind speed of 7m/s from the west-south-west, and the temperature was 31.7 degrees Celsius.


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Blobrana


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RE: Astro-EII launched!
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Japan has successfully launched a rocket carrying X-ray telescopes into Earth's orbit.
It was the first lift-off for Japan's space program since the February launch of the H-2A rocket.

Over the next two days, the satellite will use a booster to reach its target orbit about 550km above the planet's surface.

Nine days after lift-off, the Astro-EII satellite, drawing power from solar panels, will begin collecting data from its five X-ray telescopes, relaying the information five times daily to a global network of antenna.


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Blobrana


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RE: Astro-EII
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The launch of the M-V Launch Vehicle No. 6 (M-V-6) with the
23rd scientific satellite (ASTRO-EII) onboard has been rescheduled to no earlier than July 10, 2005 (Japan Standard Time, JST) due to the adverse weather condition.

Date : July 10 (Sunday), 2005 (JST)
Time : Between 12:30 and 1:00 p.m. (JST) (03:30 – 04:00 GMT)
Reserve Dates : July 11 through 15, 2005 (JST)


In the case that they cannot conduct the launch experiment within the above window, they will extend the window to between July 22 and August 2.



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Blobrana


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The launch experiment of the M-V Launch Vehicle No. 6 (M-V-6) with the 23rd scientific satellite(ASTRO-EII) onboard has been rescheduled to no earlier than July 10, 2005, (Japan Standard Time, JST) .

The launch experiment was originally scheduled on July 6, but was postponed due to the adverse weather conditions.
It had previously been announced that it would be rescheduled to no earlier than July 8 (JST), but after further study of the weather, we decided to postpone it to no earlier than July 10 (JST).

The new launch experiment date will be announced as soon as it is determined.

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