XMM

Spacecraft nº:

ESA spacecraft nº: 42

Launch data: Designation 25989 / 99066A Launch date 10 Dec 1999 - 14:32 UT Launch site Ko, ELA-3 Launch vehicle Ariane-5G (V119) Mission Astronomy: X-ray astronomy Earth orbit: Perigee/Apogee 7400/114000 km Inclination 60° Period 2 days

Credit: ESA

Specifications Prime contractor Dornier (part of DASA) Platform   Mass at launch ~ 4000 kg Mass in orbit   Dry mass 3234 kg Dimension 10 m long x 4 m diameter Solar array   Stabilization   DC power   Design lifetime 10 years

Credit: ESA

Description:

• 11 Feb 1998: The XMM spacecraft standing upside down in the clean room at ESA's ESTEC facility. Its front end, where the mirror modules of the X-ray telescopes pass through the satellite's service module, is closest to the ground.
• At the top is the section containing detectors at the focus of the X-ray telescopes. Surmounting the assembly, a pair of cones will carry heat away from the detectors. XMM's appearance is, though, dominated by the long tube that spans the telescope's focal length, and by the black thermal blanket that will protect the spacecraft from unequal heating on the sunny and shaded sides
• The European Space Agency's X-ray space observatory is the biggest scientific satellite ever built in Europe, its telescope mirrors were amongst the most powerful ever developed in the world and with its sensitive cameras it will see much more than any previous X-ray satellite.
• Since Earth's atmosphere blocks out all X-rays, only a telescope in space can detect and study celestial X-ray sources. The XMM-Newton mission will help scientists solve a number of cosmic mysteries, ranging from the enigmatic black holes to the origins of the Universe itself. Observing time on XMM-Newton is being made available to the scientific community, applying for observational periods on a competitive basis.
• XMM carries 3 telescopes of 70 cm diameter (with 58 overlapping mirrors each). It also carries an 0.30 m aperture optical/ultraviolet telescope, the Optical Monitor, which will allow simultaneous measurements of the optical and ultraviolet light from the source being studied with the X-ray telescopes. Pointing accuracy of the telescope array is 0.25 seconds of arc.