Advanced Satellite for Cosmology and Astrophysics

The Advanced Satellite for Cosmology and Astrophysics ( ASCA ), also known as ASTRO -D or Asuka was a Japanese- American space telescope for X-ray astronomy.

ASCA was the fourth Japanese X-ray satellite and was developed by the Japanese Institute of Space Research ISAS together with NASA. ASCA was launched on 20 February 1993 an M -3S - 2 rocket into low Earth orbit at 31.5 degree orbital inclination from the Kagoshima Space Center. The satellite was until July 14, 2000 operating in a geomagnetic storm turned out the position control to the. On 2 March 2001, he burned up in Earth's atmosphere over the western Pacific.

ASCA had four identical X-ray telescopes of Wolter - type with an effective area of ​​1300 cm2 at 1 keV energy and 600 cm2 at 6-7 keV. The first X-ray observatory ASCA took advantage behind two of his four X-ray telescopes CCD detectors with which the energy of the X-ray photons could be measured more accurately than with previous detector systems. So absorbed X-ray spectra was due primarily to a better understanding of active galactic nuclei and she -surrounding matter. The other two telescopes possessed imaging proportional counters as detectors.

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