Tenma
Tenma was Japan's second X-ray astronomy mission, launched as ASTRO-B on 20 February 1983 into low Earth orbit. It delivered high-resolution spectra of X-ray stars and galaxies, detected iron-line features and absorption in X-ray sources, and observed gamma-ray bursts and rapid transients.
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Identity
- Aliases
- TenmaTENMAASTRO-B
- Name
- Tenma
- Status
- completed
Details
- Astronauts
- -
- Description
- Tenma was Japan's second X-ray astronomy mission, launched as ASTRO-B on 20 February 1983 into low Earth orbit. It delivered high-resolution spectra of X-ray stars and galaxies, detected iron-line features and absorption in X-ray sources, and observed gamma-ray bursts and rapid transients.
- Destination
- Near-circular Earth orbit at approximately 497 km perigee and 503 km apogee (32° inclination; 94-minute period)
- End Date
- 1988-12-17
- Outcome
- Tenma's high-energy-resolution observations advanced X-ray astronomy through precise iron-line spectroscopy, studies of hot plasma and compact-object systems, and gamma-ray-burst and transient-source observations. ISAS/JAXA records mission operations ending on 17 December 1988.
- Programs
- -
- Start Date
- 1983-02-20
- Vehicle Families
Links
- Official Url
- https://darts.isas.jaxa.jp/en/missions/tenma
Assets & Meta
- Creation Time
- August 1, 2026 at 17:57:02 UTC
- Updated Time
- August 21, 2026 at 02:14:09 UTC
Other
- Affiliations
- Space Stations
- -
- Vehicles