NuSTAR
Bringing the High-Energy Universe into Focus
NASA’s Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array (NuSTAR) will be the first focusing high-energy X-ray mission,
opening the sky for sensitive study of the hottest, densest, most energetic phenomena in the Universe. NuSTAR
will search for black holes, map the remnants of stellar explosions, and study the most extreme active galaxies.
Bringing the High-Energy Universe into Focus
The NuSTAR Scientific Instrument
During its two-year primary mission, NuSTAR will map
selected regions of the sky and target some of the most
extreme cosmic sources in order to:
The NuSTAR instrument consists of two
co-aligned, grazing-incidence telescopes with
specially coated optics and newly developed
detectors. NuSTAR extends the sensitivity of
focusing X-ray missions such as NASA’s
Chandra X-ray Observatory and ESA’s XMMNewton to higher energies. After launching into
orbit on a small rocket,
the NuSTAR telescope
extends to achieve a
10-meter focal length.
Compared to previous
missions that have
operated in the highenergy X-ray band,
NuSTAR will provide
images that are 10
times sharper and more
than a factor of 100
more sensitive.
• take a census of collapsed stars and black holes of
different sizes by surveying regions around the center
of our own Milky Way Galaxy and by performing deep
observations of the extragalactic sky;
• map recently synthesized material in young
supernova remnants to understand how stars explode
and how elements are created; and
• understand what powers relativistic jets of particles
from the most extreme supermassive black holes.
In addition to its core science program, NuSTAR will offer
opportunities for a broad suite of science investigations,
ranging from probing cosmic ray origins to studying
the extreme physics around collapsed stars to detecting
nano-flares on the surface of the Sun. NuSTAR will also
respond to targets of opportunity including supernovae
and outbursts from high-energy sources.
NuSTAR’s extendable mast
NuSTAR Launch and Orbit
NuSTAR will launch into a low-Earth, near-equatorial orbit on a Pegasus
XL rocket operating out of Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands.
The Pegasus launch vehicle, built by Orbital Sciences Corporation,
relies on a unique air-launch system with the rocket released at
approximately 40,000 feet from the “Stargazer” L-1011 aircraft. The
rocket then free-falls in a horizontal position for five seconds before
igniting its three-stage rocket motor. NuSTAR will orbit the Earth at an
altitude of approximately 600 km and an inclination of 6 degrees. This
orbit minimizes NuSTAR’s exposure to the South Atlantic Anomaly, a
region of high particle background which produces signals that mimic
the cosmic X-ray emission that NuSTAR aims to detect.
NuSTAR Operations
NuSTAR will undertake its two-year prime science mission starting 30
days after launch. The observatory will be operated by U.C. Berkeley.
The data will be sent from the spacecraft to a ground station operated
by the Italian Space Agency in Malindi, Kenya. The Science Operations
Center at Caltech will plan the NuSTAR observations and distribute the
data to the international NuSTAR science team. After a brief validation
period, NuSTAR data will be publicly accessible through the HighEnergy Astrophysics Science Archive Research Center (HEASARC) at
Goddard Space Flight Center.
Mission Details
The integrated NuSTAR observatory at Orbital
Sciences Corporation in January 2012
Institutions
Caltech leads the NuSTAR science mission,
and NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory leads
NuSTAR’s implementation. Other partners
involved in development include ASI/ASDC,
ATK, University of California, Berkeley,
Columbia University, DTU Space, Goddard
Space Flight Center, Lawrence Livermore
National Laboratory, and Orbital Sciences
Corporation. The science team includes
researchers from more than 20 additional
institutions world-wide, including Durham
University, McGill University, Stanford
University/KIPAC, and Sonoma State University.
Principal Investigator
Prof. Fiona Harrison, Caltech
National Aeronautics and Space Administration
www.nustar.caltech.edu
www.nasa.gov/nustar
http://www.nasa.gov
Orbit
600 km, 6 degree inclination
Orbital Life
7.5 years
Launch Date
2012
Prime Mission
2 years
Launch Vehicle
Pegasus XL
Mass
350 kg
Power
600 W
Stowed Height
1.93 m
Focal Length
10 m
Optics
Two grazing-incidence telescopes
Optics Dimensions
Length: 450 mm; Radius: 191 mm
Energy Range
5-80 keV
Focal Planes
2 x 2 array of CdZnTe detectors
64 x 64 pixels
Pixel Size
12”
Anti-Coincidence
Shielding
Cesium-Iodide crystals
Angular Resolution
50” half-power diameter
Field of View
8’ at 40 keV