Suzaku was the second attempt for the Japanese and NASA to put up the Astro-E satellite. The first attempt failed at launch in February 2000 – watch the video clip to see what happened to Astro-E.
The name “Suzaku” is a Japanese god (borrowed from Chinese) represented by a vermillion phoenix. This satellite, originally known as Astro-E2, was renamed Suzaku on the day of its successful launch. The name signifies a new beginning for X-ray astronomy in Japan.
NASA's X-ray group at Goddard Space Flight Center had been developing X-ray microcalorimeters for astronomical observations and were ready for the technology to be flown on a satellite. A microcalorimeter was originally selected to be flown on a satellite called the Advanced X-ray Astrophysics Facility (AXAF). However, in 1992, a new plan for AXAF split it into two satellites: AXAF-I would focus on high-resolution X-ray imaging and AXAF-S would perform high-resolution spectroscopy with the microcalorimeter. AXAF-I was launched in 1999 and renamed the Chandra X-ray Observatory. AXAF-S, however, had a different fate.
In 1993, the Japanese space agency was looking for a new instrument to put on their next X-ray observatory, Astro-E. NASA and ISAS agreed that rather than flying AXAF-S, they would collaborate, with NASA providing the primary instrument on Astro-E. After Astro-E failed to make orbit, NASA and ISAS agreed to re-fly the satellite with NASA again providing an X-ray microcalorimeter as the primary instrument. Upon achieving orbit, Astro-E2 was renamed “Suzaku.”
A short time after launch, the X-ray microcalorimeter lost its coolant, making the instrument inoperable. However, not all was lost – Suzaku carries two other instruments that have made many exciting discoveries.
Use the links below or in the sidebar to learn more about Suzaku.
