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SOLAR-B MISSION STATUS
14 Mar 2006 Solar-B is on Schedule! Click HERE for more.
Solar-B requires collaboration between many different
countries, agencies, and companies. Major components of
the project are as follows:
- M-V-7 Launch Vehicle
- The launch vehicle, provided by the Institute of
Space and Astronautical Science (ISAS), will launch Solar-B from the
Uchinoura Space Center at Uchinoura Kagoshima. As of 1
January, 2006, the launch vehicle is ready.
- The Spacecraft
- Developed by the Mitsubishi Electric Corporation
(MELCO), the spacecraft will house three major
instruments: a 0.5 m diameter solar optical telescope
(SOT), an X-ray telescope (XRT), and an EUV Imaging
Spectrometer (EIS).
- Solar Optical Telescope (SOT)
- The image shows the Optical Telescope Assembly
(OTA) of the 0.5 m diameter Solar Optical Telescope
from the National Astronomical Observatory of Japan (NAOJ). The Focal Plane Package
(FPP) of the SOT is being provided by NASA. Click here
for other images of the OTA under test
- X-ray Telescope (XRT)
- Some components of the XRT will be provided by
NASA. Testing was perfomed at the X-ray Calibration
Facility at Marshall Space Flight Center, as seen in
the image.
- Extreme-UltraViolet Imaging Spectrometer (EIS)
- Development of the EIS is the responsibility of
the Particle Physics and Astronomy Research Council
(PPARC) of the U.K.
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