X-ray Astrophysics Missions & Programs

Current Missions

The Rossi X-ray Timing Explorer (RXTE) - Was originally launched from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in 1995 and features unprecedented time resolution in combination with moderate spectral resolution to explore the variability of X-ray sources. Time scales from microseconds to months are covered in an instantaneous spectral range from 2 to 250 keV. The RXTE was designed for a required lifetime of two years with a goal of five; RXTE has passed that goal and is still going strong.

The RXTE project scientist is Jean Swank. The RXTE Guest Observer Facility is in the ASD and the data are archived in the HEASARC.

Proportional Counter Array (PCA) - was developed in the ASD.

Suzaku (formerly Astro-E2) successfully launched on July 10, 2000. Suzaku covers the energy range 0.2-600 KeV with the two instruments, X-ray CCD's (X-ray imaging Spectrometer; XIS) and the hard X-ray detector (HXD). A few responsibilities of Suzaku are development of software, the compilation and production of documentation for that software and the provision of expert help. The Suzaku mission is an international collaboration of instruments including the X-ray Imaging Spectrometer (XIS), the Hard X-ray Detector (HXD), and the X-Ray Spectrometer (XRS), an X-ray micro-calorimeter, developed in the ASD. Suzaku's X-ray Telescopes (XRT) were built here in our mirror lab. These telescopes contain about 1400 specially shaped mirrors, nested in about 170 layers. These foils are positioned in the telescope so they focus X-rays at the XIS and XRS instruments and are deliberately designed for maximum collecting area per weight while sacrificing spatial resolution. The XRS team is led by Richard Kelley (PI) and the XRT team is led by Peter Serlemitsos.

Other current missions:

The European Space Agency chose to honor one of the world's most well-known scientists Sir Isaac Newton by naming the XMM-Newton mission after him. XMM-Newton was launched from Kourou, French Guiana on December 10, 1999. The XMM-Newton mission will gradually help scientists solve a few cosmic mysteries, ranging from the enigmatic black hole to the origins of the Universe itself. This mission has been made accessible to the scientific community, applying for observational periods on a competitive basis. In July 2009, the XMM-Newton X-ray observatory discovered a black hole weighing more than 500 solar masses, a missing link between lighter stellar-mass and heavier super massive black holes, in a distant galaxy. This discovery is the best recognition to date of the new class that scientist's have been searching for: intermediate mass black holes. In September 2009 XMM-Newton uncovered a celestial Rosetta Stone, the first close-up of a white dwarf star, circling a companion star, that could explode into a particular kind of supernova in a few million years. XMM-Newton has plenty more discoveries for us in the near future.

Future Missions/Programs

artist's conception of IXO (International X-Ray Observatory) array in space

IXO (International X-Ray Observatory, formerly Constellation-X) is a combination of several X-ray telescopes working in unison to generate the observing power of one giant telescope. The current design calls for four identical Spectroscopy X-ray Telescopes (SXTs) and one or two Hard X-ray Telescopes (HXTs) on a single satellite. With the Observatory, scientists will investigate black holes, Einstein's Theory of General Relativity, galaxy formation, the evolution of the Universe on the largest scales, the recycling of matter and energy, and the nature of dark matter and dark energy. The plan to launch IXO is set for 2021. The IXO Project Scientist is Nick White with Deputy Project Scientist Ann Hornschemeier and the GSFC Mission Scientist Robert Petre.

Other future missions include the Beyond Einstein program, Generation-X: An Ultra High Throughput Early Universe X-ray Imager, and MAXIM: Micro-Arcsecond X-ray Imaging Mission (Black Hole Imager)

Past Programs

Ariel V, ASCA, the Broad Band X-ray Telescope (BBXRT), the Calorimeter Sounding Rocket, HEAO-1 (1st High Energy Astrophysics Observatory), HEAO-2 (Einstein Observatory) (2nd High Energy Astrophysics Observatory), OSO-8, and ROSAT. See the HEASARC's list of missions.