Hitomi: Japan's X-Ray Astronomy Satellite Explained (Infographic)

Facts about Hitomi, the JAXA satellite that fell silent shortly after orbiting Earth in early 2016.
Facts about Hitomi, the JAXA satellite that fell silent shortly after orbiting Earth in early 2016. (Image credit: by Karl Tate, Infographics Artist)

The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency's Hitomi X-ray observatory, also called ASTRO-H, launched into on Feb. 17, 2016 on a mission to study black holes, star explosions and other objects in deep space.

Japanese Astronomy Satellite Hitomi Malfunctions, Generates Debris

The $273 million Hitomi mission suffered a major blow on March 26, 2016, when Hitomi stopped communicating with its operations center. 

Ground tracking shows Hitomi broke into several sections before March 26. Radio contact with the probe was lost on that date.

 

'Hitomi' X-Ray Astronomy Satellite Launched By JAXA | Video

 

Hitomi was intended to occupy Earth orbit at an altitude of 357 miles (575 kilometers), inclined 31 degrees to the equator. It completes one orbit every 96 minutes, maintaining its attitude toward the target for continuous observations lasting up to several days. Hitomi's four telescopes and two gamma-ray detectors all face the same direction, and were designed for simultaneous observations.

 

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Karl Tate
Space.com contributor

Karl's association with Space.com goes back to 2000, when he was hired to produce interactive Flash graphics. From 2010 to 2016, Karl worked as an infographics specialist across all editorial properties of Purch (formerly known as TechMediaNetwork).  Before joining Space.com, Karl spent 11 years at the New York headquarters of The Associated Press, creating news graphics for use around the world in newspapers and on the web.  He has a degree in graphic design from Louisiana State University and now works as a freelance graphic designer in New York City.