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Suzaku Guest Observer Facility

Astro-E2 Status (2004 February 10)

Astro-E2 is on track for a launch in early 2005. The nominal launch date is 2005 February 9, that is, less than 12 months away.

The XRS and XRT teams at Goddard have already accomplished much.

  • Three of the four XRT units for XIS have been completed and sent to Japan. The fourth will undergo testing next week. Assembly of the fifth unit, the one to be used with the XRS, will start soon.
  • The XRS He Insert, which contains the X-ray microcalorimeter array, is about to undergo performance tests before being shipped to Japan in mid March.

Some key milestones for the XRS are:

  • In June, the XRS team will install the blocking filters and then pump the dewar for 5 weeks and fill the cryogen tanks with Ne and He.
  • In July and August, performance tests and additional calibration will be performed.
  • In September, the XRS will be installed onto the spacecraft. Throughout the fall, there will be several operational and environmental tests.
  • In late December or early January, Astro-E2 will be shipped to the launche site and prepared for launch.


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This file was last modified on Monday, 14-Aug-2006 13:41:37 EDT

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