The ASTRO-H (Hitomi) x-ray astronomy satellite
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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 2016 February 17, the spacecraft lost its function on 2016 March 26, but the commissioning phase for about a month provided valuable information on the on-board instruments and the spacecraft system, including astrophysical results obtained from first light observations. 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.
Date issued
2016-07Department
MIT Kavli Institute for Astrophysics and Space ResearchJournal
Proceedings Volume 9905, Space Telescopes and Instrumentation 2016: Ultraviolet to Gamma Ray
Publisher
SPIE
Citation
Takahashi, Tadayuki, et al. "The ASTRO-H (Hitomi) x-Ray Astronomy Satellite." Proceedings Volume 9905, Space Telescopes and Instrumentation 2016: Ultraviolet to Gamma Ray, 26 June - July 1, 2016, Edinburgh, United Kindgom, edited by Jan-Willem A. den Herder et al., SPIE, 2016, p. 99050U. © 2016 SPIE.
Version: Final published version