| Abstract: | The fifth Japaniese X-ray astronomy satellite, Astro-E, following Hakucho, Tenma, Ginga, and ASCA is scheduled for launch in the year 2000 by the Institute of Space and Astronautical Science (ISAS) with an M-V rocket. The satellite will be put into an approximately circular orbit with an altitude of ∽550 km and an inclination of ∽31°. There will be three experiments on board Astro-E: an X-ray micro-calorimeter array, four X-ray CCDs and a hard X-ray detector. All three experiments combined, Astro-E will become a spectrometer facility covering a wide energy band from 0.5 keV to 600 keV. |
