NuSTAR - black hole telescope

cIclops · 2007-09-21 14:41:02

Telescope Mission to Detect Black Holes - 21 Sep 2007

WASHINGTON -- NASA has made a decision to restart an astronomy mission that will have greater capability than any existing instrument for detecting black holes in the local universe.
The Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array, or NuSTAR, will expand our understanding of the origins and destinies of stars and galaxies. NASA had stopped the study effort on the NuSTAR mission in 2006 due to funding pressures within the Science Mission Directorate.
"We are very excited to be able restart the NuSTAR mission, which we expect to be launched in 2011," said Alan Stern, associate administrator for the Science Mission Directorate at NASA Headquarters in Washington. "NuSTAR has more than 500 times the sensitivity of previous instruments that detect black holes. It's a great opportunity for us to explore an important astronomical frontier. We are getting more and more from the science budget we have, and the restart of the highly-valued NuSTAR mission is an example of that."
NuSTAR will bridge a gap between the 2009 launch of the Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer and the 2013 launch of the James Webb Space Telescope. The spacecraft will map areas of the sky in the light of high-energy X-rays and complement astrophysics missions that explore the cosmos in other regions of the electromagnetic spectrum.
"NuSTAR will perform deep observations in hard X-rays to detect black holes of all sizes and other exotic phenomena," said Jon Morse, director of the Astrophysics Division at NASA Headquarters. "It will perform cutting-edge science using advanced technologies and help to provide a balance between small and large missions in the NASA astrophysics portfolio."
NuSTAR is a part of NASA's Explorer Program. The program provides frequent, low-cost access to space for missions with small- to mid-sized spacecraft. NuSTAR originally was selected from proposals submitted in response to an announcement of opportunity in 2003. Fiona Harrison of the California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, is the NuSTAR principal investigator.
NASA expects to select three additional Small Explorer missions for flight in the first half of the next decade through a competitive selection within the astrophysics and heliophysics scientific communities.
NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif. manages the NuSTAR mission. The Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md., manages the Explorer Program for the Science Mission Directorate. Orbital Sciences Corp., Dulles, Va., is the industry partner for the mission.
For more information about the NuSTAR mission, visit:
http://www.nustar.caltech.edu

EuroLauncher · 2007-09-22 20:40:45

Yay ! its back, this is great news

cIclops · 2007-10-02 14:22:21

Orbital Selected As Industry Partner

(Dulles, VA 2 October 2007) – Orbital Sciences Corporation (NYSE: ORB) announced today that it has been selected by the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) and the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) to design, manufacture, integrate and test the Nuclear Spectroscopic Array (NuSTAR) scientific satellite. The NuSTAR satellite is part of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Small Explorer series of smaller-sized spacecraft designed to carry out highly productive Earth and space science investigations. The astrophysics mission of the NuSTAR observatory is to use high-energy X-rays to detect black holes and other energetic phenomena in the universe. It is scheduled for launch in 2011 and is designed to bridge the gap in astrophysics missions between the 2009 launch of the Wide-field Infrared Surveyor Explorer and the 2013 launch of the James Webb Space Telescope.
“Caltech and JPL’s selection of Orbital as the prime industrial contractor for the NuSTAR spacecraft continues our long and distinguished history of providing NASA with reliable and cost-effective scientific satellites under the Small Explorers program,” stated Mr. Mike Miller, Orbital’s Senior Vice President for Science and Technology Satellite Programs.
The NuSTAR program is being led by Principal Investigator Dr. Fiona Harrison of Caltech. Its mission is to help scientists answer fundamental questions about the universe, such as: How are black holes distributed throughout the cosmos? How were the elements of the universe created? What powers the most extreme active galaxies? With answers to these and other questions, NuSTAR will expand our understanding of the origins and destinies of stars and galaxies.
Mr. David Oberg, Orbital’s NuSTAR Program Director, said, “The NuSTAR program will benefit from utilizing Orbital’s proven LEOStar-2 spacecraft bus design. NuSTAR will be the seventh satellite to be based on this platform, taking advantage of a growing heritage of excellent in-orbit performance from previous missions.” Other LEOStar-based satellites that Orbital has designed and built for previous NASA scientific missions include SORCE, GALEX and AIM.

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#1 2007-09-21 14:41:02

Re: NuSTAR - black hole telescope

#2 2007-09-22 20:40:45

Re: NuSTAR - black hole telescope

#3 2007-10-02 14:22:21

Re: NuSTAR - black hole telescope

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