Space enthusiasts can watch in real-time as Japan gears up to launch its sixth satellite into space this month.
The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) will be blasting its Astro-H spacecraft from the Tanegashima Space Center in Kagoshima to study the history of galaxy clusters and the presence of black holes.
The spacecraft was originally set to launch atop an H-IIA rocket at 3:45 a.m. EST (0845 GMT) on Friday, but the launch has been postponed due to weather issues.
According to JAXA, a freezing layer of clouds, which exceed restrictions for suitable weather forecast, is expected to appear during the scheduled launch time. Strong winds were also expected to hinder preparations.
Japan is partnering up with NASA for the ASTRO-H mission. NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center provided two telescope mirrors and one scientific instrument for the spacecraft.
Astro-H is an X-ray observatory dedicated to examining energetic events across the universe, such as the evolution of galaxy clusters and powerful supernova explosions.
The Astro-H observatory will be 10 times more sensitive to X-ray light than the Suzaku spacecraft, its predecessor which had operated for a decade. Astro-H will examine high-energy light through four advanced instruments and four co-aligned focusing telescopes.
Robert Petre, NASA's Astro-H project scientist, said they see X-rays from sources throughout the universe where particles reach significantly high energies.
"These energies arise in a variety of settings," said Petre. This includes extreme magnetic fields, stellar explosions, or regions with strong gravity.
"X-rays let us probe aspects of these phenomena that are inaccessible by instruments observing at other wavelengths," added Petre.
Astro-H has two identical soft X-ray telescopes with mirror assemblies provided by Goddard. As X-rays can penetrate matter, the mirrors will be doing a very special function which astrophysicists call "grazing incidence optics." Like skipping a stone on water, X-ray light skimming through the surface of curved mirror segments is deflected toward the telescopes focal point.
The first soft X-ray telescope given by the Goddard team can focus X-ray light to an advanced wide-field camera. The second soft X-ray telescope can send light into a soft X-ray spectometer (SXS).
"The technology used in the SXS is leading the way to the next generation of imaging X-ray spectrometers," said Caroline Kilbourne of Goddard's SXS team. It will be able to identify tens of thousands of X-ray colors while simultaneously capturing sharp images.
The Astro-H observatory is a collaborative project of JAXA, NASA, the European Space Agency (ESA), the Canadian Space Agency (CSA), and Yale University experts.
The date of the launch will be announced as soon as it is determined.
