HEADNEWS: THE ELECTRONIC NEWSLETTER OF THE HIGH ENERGY ASTROPHYSICS DIVISION OF THE AAS




Newsletter No. 98, June 2011

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12. NuSTAR Mission News - Daniel Stern (JPL) & Fiona Harrison (Caltech)

NuSTAR, the Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array, is a NASA Small Explorer (SMEX) mission which will provide the first focused observations in the 5 to 80 keV hard X-ray window. NuSTAR, currently in Phase D, is on track for its scheduled Pegasus launch from Kwajalein Atoll in February 2012.

The NuSTAR instrument, including the optics modules, focal planes and extendable mast, successfully completed integration and testing at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in April 2011. It then shipped to Orbital Sciences Corporation in Dulles, Virginia where it is currently undergoing integration and testing with the spacecraft. At the end of the Summer, the fully integrated instrument plus spacecraft will ship to Vandenberg Air Force Base for integration with the launch vehicle.

On the science front, the science team is optimizing and finalizing the observation plan for the baseline two years of NuSTAR operations.
For more information about the NuSTAR mission, visit http://www.nustar.caltech.edu.

 

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