NuSTAR

NuSTAR
NuSTAR (Explorer 93) satellite
NamesExplorer 93
Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array
SMEX-11
Mission typeX-ray astronomy
OperatorNASA / JPL
COSPAR ID2012-031A Edit this at Wikidata
SATCAT no.38358
Websitewww.nustar.caltech.edu
Mission duration2 years (planned)
11 years, 11 months, 5 days (in progress)
Spacecraft properties
SpacecraftExplorer XCIII
Spacecraft typeNuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array
BusLEOStar-2
ManufacturerOrbital Sciences Corporation
ATK Space Components
Launch mass350 kg (770 lb)[1]
Payload mass171 kg (377 lb)
Dimensions1.2 × 10.9 m (3 ft 11 in × 35 ft 9 in)
Power750 watts[2]
Start of mission
Launch date13 June 2012, 16:00:37 UTC[3]
RocketPegasus XL (F41)
Launch siteKwajalein Atoll, Stargazer
ContractorOrbital Sciences Corporation
Orbital parameters
Reference systemGeocentric orbit
RegimeNear-equatorial orbit
Perigee altitude596.6 km (370.7 mi)
Apogee altitude612.6 km (380.7 mi)
Inclination6.027°
Period96.8 minutes
Main telescope
TypeWolter type I
Focal length10.15 m (33.3 ft)[2]
Collecting area9 keV: 847 cm2 (131.3 sq in)
78 keV: 60 cm2 (9.3 sq in)
Wavelengths3–79 keV
Resolution9.5 arcseconds
Instruments
Dual X-ray telescope
Explorer program
← IBEX (Explorer 92)
IRIS (Explorer 94) →
 

NuSTAR (Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array, also named Explorer 93 and SMEX-11) is a NASA space-based X-ray telescope that uses a conical approximation to a Wolter telescope to focus high energy X-rays from astrophysical sources, especially for nuclear spectroscopy, and operates in the range of 3 to 79 keV.[4]

NuSTAR is the eleventh mission of NASA's Small Explorer (SMEX-11) satellite program and the first space-based direct-imaging X-ray telescope at energies beyond those of the Chandra X-ray Observatory and XMM-Newton. It was successfully launched on 13 June 2012, having previously been delayed from 21 March 2012 due to software issues with the launch vehicle.[5][6]

The mission's primary scientific goals are to conduct a deep survey for black holes a billion times more massive than the Sun, to investigate how particles are accelerated to very high energy in active galaxies, and to understand how the elements are created in the explosions of massive stars by imaging supernova remnants.

Having completed a two-year primary mission,[7] NuSTAR is in its eleventh year of operation.

  1. ^ "Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array (NuSTAR)" (PDF). Jet Propulsion Laboratory. June 2012. Retrieved 16 June 2012.
  2. ^ a b "NuSTAR (Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array)". European Space Agency. Retrieved 2 July 2015.
  3. ^ Ray, Justin. "Mission Status Center". Spaceflight Now. Retrieved 13 June 2012.
  4. ^ "About". NuSTAR. Caltech. Retrieved 15 October 2017.
  5. ^ "Launch of NASA's NuSTAR Mission Postponed". NASA. 16 March 2012. Retrieved 15 October 2017. Public Domain This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
  6. ^ "NASA Selects Explorer Mission Proposals for Feasibility Studies (03-353)" (Press release). Public Domain This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
  7. ^ Presto, Suzanne (13 August 2014). "Black hole bends light, space, time – and NASA's NuSTAR can see it all unfold". CNN Business. CNN. Retrieved 28 November 2022.

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