Hitomi (ASTRO-H) X-ray Astronomy Satellite
The Hitomi (ASTRO-H) mission is the sixth Japanese x-ray astronomy satellite developed by a large international collaboration, including Japan, USA, Canada, and Europe. The mission aimed to provide the highest energy resolution ever achieved at E > 2 keV, using a microcalorimeter instrument, and to cover a wide energy range spanning four decades in energy from soft x-rays to gamma rays. After a successful launch on February 17, 2016, the spacecraft lost its function on March 26, 2016, but the commissioning phase for about a month provided valuable information on the onboard instruments and the spacecraft system, including astrophysical results obtained from first light observations. Finally, the paper describes the Hitomi (ASTRO-H) mission, its capabilities, the initial operation, and the instruments/spacecraft performances confirmed during the commissioning operations for about a month.
- Research Organization:
- SLAC National Accelerator Lab., Menlo Park, CA (United States)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE
- Contributing Organization:
- Hitomi (ASTRO-H) Collaboration
- Grant/Contract Number:
- AC02-76SF00515
- OSTI ID:
- 1463906
- Journal Information:
- Journal of Astronomical Telescopes, Instruments, and Systems, Vol. 4, Issue 02; ISSN 2329-4124
- Publisher:
- SPIECopyright Statement
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
Web of Science
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