Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array (NuSTAR) - NASA's space observatory in the small space satellite program . This is the first hard X-ray space telescope (7-80 keV) operating on the principle of moving reflection - reflection of X -rays and gamma rays at very small angles to the surface of the mirrors [1] . Work in this section of the electromagnetic spectrum was previously conducted only using the principle of coding aperture , which significantly limited their sensitivity. In devices operating on the principle of a coding aperture, the source signal must be isolated against the background of a large instrumental background collected from almost the entire detector. In the case of a mirror system, the photons of the source are projected into a small part of the detector, and, therefore, the influence of the instrumental background on the measurements can be orders of magnitude smaller.
| NuSTAR (Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array) | |
|---|---|
 Image of the NuSTAR project | |
| Organization | ATK Space Systems-Goleta Orbital Sciences Corporation |
| Wave range | X-ray and gamma rays |
| NSSDC ID | 2012-031A |
| Location | Geocentric orbit |
| Orbit type | Low apogee |
| Orbit height | 445 km |
| Circulation period | 93 minutes |
| Launch date | June 13, 2012 , 16:00:37 UTC |
| Launch place | Kwajalein |
| Orbiter | L-1011 Stargazer / Pegasus XL |
| Duration | 2 years |
| Weight | 360 kg |
| Telescope type | spectrometers |
| Scientific instruments | |
| Site | nustar.caltech.edu |
On June 13, 2012 at 16.01 UTC, the Pegasus XL LV launched from the L-1011 'Stargazer' aircraft and launched the telescope into a given orbit [2] . The expected satellite operating time in orbit is 2 years.
Content
History
The development of the telescope began in 2005 , but in 2007, due to a reduction in the NASA budget for scientific programs, the project was closed. But already in the same year, scientists resumed work on the development of the telescope, and already at the beginning of 2012 it was built.
Features
NuSTAR instruments consist of two coaxial telescopes with a special surface coating and newly developed detectors, which will allow them to work efficiently up to energies of 70-80 keV. The focal length of the telescope is about 10 m. Such a large focal length of the telescope with a small satellite size will be achieved due to the separation of special farms after the satellite is put into orbit. The prototype of NuSTAR telescopes (called HEFT) was successfully tested when launched on a cylinder in 2005 [3] .
It is expected that the sensitivity of the NuSTAR satellite mirror system will exceed the sensitivity of the best modern tools in this energy range of the INTEGRAL and SWIFT observatories by more than 100 times.
Scientific supervisor of the Fiona Harrison Observatory ( Caltech ).
The main scientific tasks of the observatory:
- a survey of sky areas (including the region of the center of the Galaxy ) with maximum sensitivity for studying populations of black holes of various masses and compact objects;
- mapping of radiation from radioactive elements in young remnants of supernova explosions ;
- study of the origin of relativistic jets of particles flying out of supermassive black holes .
In addition to the main program, NuSTAR is expected to make progress in various fields of astrophysics , from the origin of cosmic rays to the physics of extreme states of matter in compact objects in our Galaxy and the mapping of microflares on the Sun. It is planned that NuSTAR will participate in observations of transient sky objects (Target of Opportunity observations).
See also
- List of spacecraft with x-ray and gamma detectors on board
Notes
- β Instrumentation: Optics (inaccessible link) . NuSTAR. Date of treatment June 15, 2012. Archived June 30, 2012.
- β NuSTAR space telescope successfully launched into orbit | Science and Technology | RIA Novosti news feed
- β Abstract