Suzaku (satellite)
A picture of a fully integrated Astro-E2 before vibration tests at ISAS/JAXA. | |
| Names | ASTRO-EII |
|---|---|
| Mission type | Astronomy |
| Operator | JAXA / NASA |
| COSPAR ID | 2005-025A |
| SATCAT no. | 28773 |
| Website | www |
| Mission duration | 2 years (planned) 10 years 1 month 23 days (achieved) |
| Spacecraft properties | |
| Spacecraft type | ASTRO |
| Bus | ASTRO-E |
| Manufacturer | Toshiba |
| Launch mass | 1,706 kg (3,761 lb) |
| Dimensions | 2 metres x 5 metres |
| Power | 500 watts |
| Start of mission | |
| Launch date | 10 July 2005, 03:30:00 UTC |
| Rocket | M-V # 6 |
| Launch site | Uchinoura Space Center, Uchinoura, Kagoshima |
| End of mission | |
| Deactivated | 2 September 2015 |
| Decay date | 5 January 2025 |
| Orbital parameters | |
| Reference system | Geocentric orbit |
| Regime | Low Earth orbit |
| Perigee altitude | 550 km (340 mi) |
| Apogee altitude | 550 km (340 mi) |
| Inclination | 31° |
| Period | 96 minutes |
| Instruments | |
| X-ray Spectrometer-2 (XRS-2) X-ray Imaging Spectrometer (XIS) Hard X-ray Detector (HXD) | |
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.