38358 - NUSTAR

NUSTAR is a small X-ray telescope boosted into orbit by an air-launched Pegasus XL rocket, the first step in an ambitious low-cost mission to study supermassive black holes believed to be lurking at the cores of galaxies like Earth's Milky Way and to probe the creation of heavy elements in the cataclysmic death throes of massive stars. The mission's unique telescope design includes a 33-foot (10-meter) mast, which was folded up in a small canister during launch. About seven days after launch, engineers commanded the mast to extend, enabling the telescope to focus properly. About 23 days later, science operations began.

In addition to black holes and their powerful jets, NUSTAR studies a host of high-energy objects in our universe, including the remains of exploded stars; compact, dead stars; and clusters of galaxies. The mission's observations, in coordination with other telescopes such as NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory, which detects lower-energy X-rays, will help solve fundamental cosmic mysteries. NUSTAR also studies our sun's fiery atmosphere, looking for clues as to how it is heated. NUSTAR is a Small Explorer mission led by the Caltech and managed by JPL for NASA's Science Mission Directorate in Washington.

The initial orbital parameters were period = 97.18 minutes, apogee = 633.0 km, perigee = 614.5 km, inclination = 6.0 deg on 2012 Jun 21 at 06:10:51 UTC.

Alternate Names

Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array (NuSTAR)

Facts in Brief

Launch Date: 2012-06-13
Launch Vehicle: Pegasus XL
Launch Site: Kwajalein, Republic of the Marshall Islands