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ASCA (ASTRO-D)

JAXA/ISAS's ASCA (ASTRO-D) was a Japanese X-ray astronomy mission launched on 1993-02-20 aboard M-3SII-7 from Uchinoura. It performed precise X-ray observations of celestial bodies and explored the deep universe, including galaxy clusters, black holes, particle acceleration, dark matter, and the cosmic X-ray background, until operations ended on 2001-03-02.

ASCA (ASTRO-D)
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Identity

Aliases
ASCAASTRO-DAsukaAdvanced Satellite for Cosmology and Astrophysics
Name
ASCA (ASTRO-D)
Status
completed

Details

Astronauts
-
Description
JAXA/ISAS's ASCA (ASTRO-D) was a Japanese X-ray astronomy mission launched on 1993-02-20 aboard M-3SII-7 from Uchinoura. It performed precise X-ray observations of celestial bodies and explored the deep universe, including galaxy clusters, black holes, particle acceleration, dark matter, and the cosmic X-ray background, until operations ended on 2001-03-02.
Destination
Near-circular Earth orbit at approximately 525 km perigee and 615 km apogee (31° inclination; 96-minute period)
End Date
2001-03-02
Launch Site
Programs
-
Start Date
1993-02-20
Vehicle Families

Links

Official Url
https://www.isas.jaxa.jp/en/missions/spacecraft/past/asca.html

Assets & Meta

Creation Time
August 15, 2026 at 22:42:54 UTC
Updated Time
August 22, 2026 at 12:26:09 UTC
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