# NuSTAR

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NASA X-ray space telescope of the Explorer program

NuSTAR NuSTAR (Explorer 93) satellite Names Explorer 93 Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array SMEX-11 Mission type X-ray astronomy Operator NASA / JPL COSPAR ID 2012-031A SATCAT no. 38358 Website www.nustar.caltech.edu Mission duration 2 years (planned) 14 years, 13 days (in progress) Spacecraft properties Spacecraft Explorer XCIII Spacecraft type Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array Bus LEOStar-2 Manufacturer Orbital ATK (formerly Orbital Sciences Corporation and ATK Space Components) Launch mass 350 kg (770 lb)[1] Payload mass 171 kg (377 lb) Dimensions 1.2 × 10.9 m (3 ft 11 in × 35 ft 9 in) Power 750 watts[2] Start of mission Launch date 13 June 2012, 16:00:37 UTC[3] Rocket Pegasus XL (F41) Launch site Kwajalein Atoll, Stargazer Contractor Orbital Sciences Corporation Orbital parameters Reference system Geocentric orbit Regime Near-equatorial orbit Perigee altitude 596.6 km (370.7 mi) Apogee altitude 612.6 km (380.7 mi) Inclination 6.027° Period 96.8 minutes Main telescope Type Wolter type I Focal length 10.15 m (33.3 ft)[2] Collecting area 9 keV: 847 cm2 (131.3 sq in) 78 keV: 60 cm2 (9.3 sq in) Wavelengths 3–79 keV Resolution 9.5 arcseconds Instruments Dual X-ray telescope Explorer program ← IBEX (Explorer 92) IRIS (Explorer 94) →

**NuSTAR** (**Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array**, also named **Explorer 93** and **SMEX-11**) is a [NASA](/source/NASA) space-based [X-ray](/source/X-ray) telescope that uses a [conical approximation](/source/Conical_intersection) to a [Wolter telescope](/source/Wolter_telescope) to focus high energy X-rays from [astrophysical](/source/Astrophysics) sources, especially for [nuclear spectroscopy](/source/Nuclear_spectroscopy), and operates in the range of 3 to 79 [keV](/source/Electronvolt).[4]

NuSTAR is the eleventh mission of NASA's [Small Explorer](/source/Small_Explorer) (SMEX-11) satellite program and the first space-based direct-imaging [X-ray telescope](/source/X-ray_telescope) at energies beyond those of the [Chandra X-ray Observatory](/source/Chandra_X-ray_Observatory) and [XMM-Newton](/source/XMM-Newton). It was successfully launched on 13 June 2012, having previously been delayed from 21 March 2012 due to software issues with the launch vehicle.[5][6]

The mission's primary scientific goals are to conduct a deep survey for [black holes](/source/Black_hole) a billion times more massive than the Sun, to investigate how particles are accelerated to very high energy in [active galaxies](/source/Active_galaxy), and to understand how the elements are created in the explosions of massive stars by imaging [supernova remnants](/source/Supernova_remnant).

Having completed a two-year primary mission,[7] NuSTAR is in its fourteenth year of operation.

## History

NuSTAR's predecessor, the High Energy Focusing Telescope (HEFT), was a balloon-borne version that carried telescopes and detectors constructed using similar technologies. In February 2003, NASA issued an Explorer program Announcement of Opportunity (AoO). In response, NuSTAR was submitted to NASA in May 2003, as one of 36 mission proposals vying to be the tenth and eleventh Small Explorer missions.[5] In November 2003, NASA selected NuSTAR and four other proposals for a five-month implementation feasibility study.

In January 2005, NASA selected NuSTAR for flight pending a one-year feasibility study.[8] The program was cancelled in February 2006 as a result of cuts to science in NASA's 2007 budget. On 21 September 2007, it was announced that the program had been restarted, with an expected launch in August 2011, though this was later delayed to June 2012.[6][9][10][11]

The principal investigator is [Fiona A. Harrison](/source/Fiona_A._Harrison) of the [California Institute of Technology](/source/California_Institute_of_Technology) (Caltech). Other major partners include the [Jet Propulsion Laboratory](/source/Jet_Propulsion_Laboratory) (JPL), [University of California, Berkeley](/source/University_of_California%2C_Berkeley), [Technical University of Denmark](/source/Technical_University_of_Denmark) (DTU), [Columbia University](/source/Columbia_University), [Goddard Space Flight Center](/source/Goddard_Space_Flight_Center) (GSFC), [Stanford University](/source/Stanford_University), [University of California, Santa Cruz](/source/University_of_California%2C_Santa_Cruz), [Sonoma State University](/source/Sonoma_State_University), [Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory](/source/Lawrence_Livermore_National_Laboratory), and the [Italian Space Agency](/source/Italian_Space_Agency) (ASI). NuSTAR's major industrial partners include [Orbital Sciences Corporation](/source/Orbital_Sciences_Corporation) and [ATK Space Components](/source/Alliant_Techsystems).

## Launch

NASA contracted with Orbital Sciences Corporation to launch NuSTAR (mass 350 kg (770 lb))[12] on a [Pegasus XL](/source/Pegasus_(rocket)) launch vehicle on 21 March 2012.[6] It had earlier been planned for 15 August 2011, 3 February 2012, 16 March 2012, and 14 March 2012.[13] After a launch meeting on 15 March 2012, the launch was pushed further back to allow time to review flight software used by the launch vehicle's flight computer.[14] The launch was conducted successfully at 16:00:37 [UTC](/source/Coordinated_Universal_Time) on 13 June 2012[3] about 117 mi (188 km) south of [Kwajalein Atoll](/source/Kwajalein_Atoll).[15] The Pegasus launch vehicle was dropped from the [L-1011 'Stargazer' aircraft](/source/Stargazer_(aircraft)).[12][16]

On 22 June 2012, it was confirmed that the 10 m (33 ft) mast was fully deployed.[17]

## Optics

NuSTAR's nested X-ray mirrors

Focusing X-rays with a Wolter Type-1 optical system

Unlike visible light telescopes – which employ mirrors or lenses working with normal incidence – NuSTAR has to employ grazing incidence optics to be able to focus X-rays. For this two conical approximation [Wolter telescope](/source/Wolter_telescope) design optics with 10.15 m (33.3 ft) focal length are held at the end of a long [deployable](/source/Deployable_structure) mast. A laser [metrology](/source/Metrology) system is used to determine the exact relative positions of the optics and the focal plane at all times, so that each detected photon can be mapped back to the correct point on the sky even if the optics and the focal plane move relative to one another during an exposure.

Each focusing optic consists of 133 concentric shells. One particular innovation enabling NuSTAR is that these shells are coated with [depth-graded multilayers](/source/Depth-graded_multilayer_coating) (alternating atomically thin layers of a high-density and low-density material); with NuSTAR's choice of Pt/SiC and W/Si multilayers, this enables reflectivity up to 79 keV (the platinum [K-edge](/source/K-edge) energy).[18][19]

The optics were produced, at [Goddard Space Flight Center](/source/Goddard_Space_Flight_Center), by heating thin (210 μm (0.0083 in)) sheets of flexible glass in an oven so that they slumped over precision-polished cylindrical quartz [mandrels](/source/Mandrel) of the appropriate radius. The [coatings](/source/Coating) were applied by a group at the [Danish Technical University](/source/Danish_Technical_University).

The shells were then assembled, at the [Nevis Laboratories](/source/Nevis_Laboratories) of Columbia University, using graphite spacers machined to constrain the glass to the conical shape, and held together by epoxy. There are 4680 mirror segments in total (the 65 inner shells each comprise six segments and the 65 outer shells twelve; there are upper and lower segments to each shell, and there are two telescopes); there are five spacers per segment. Since the epoxy takes 24 hours to cure, one shell is assembled per day – it took four months to build up one optic.

The actual telescope consists of two separate Focal Plane Modules (FPMs) labelled FPMA and FPMB. These two FPMs are built to be similar, though they are not identical. Depending on the source and on the observation, one of the modules will usually report higher counts. This is corrected for in the science results step, usually by apply a constant multiplier during spectral fitting and light curve analysis.[20]

The expected point spread function for the flight mirrors is 43 [arcseconds](/source/Minute_and_second_of_arc), giving a spot size of about two millimeters at the focal plane; this is unprecedentedly good resolution for focusing hard X-ray optics, though it is about one hundred times worse than the best resolution achieved at longer wavelengths by the [Chandra X-ray Observatory](/source/Chandra_X-ray_Observatory).

## Detectors

One of NuSTAR's two detectors

NuSTAR's mast deployed on Earth; the inset is looking down the structure

Each focusing optic has its own focal plane module, consisting of a solid state [cadmium zinc telluride](/source/Cadmium_zinc_telluride) (CdZnTe) pixel detector[21] surrounded by a [cesium iodide](/source/Caesium_iodide) (CsI) [anti-coincidence shield](/source/Electronic_anticoincidence). One detector unit — or focal plane — comprises four (two-by-two) detectors, manufactured by [eV Products](http://www.evproducts.com). Each detector is a rectangular crystal of dimension 20 × 20 mm (0.79 × 0.79 in) and thickness ~2 mm (0.079 in) that have been gridded into 32 × 32 × 0.6 mm (1.260 × 1.260 × 0.024 in) [pixels](/source/Pixel) (each pixel subtending 12.3 arcseconds) and provides a total of 12 arcminutes [field of view](/source/Field_of_view) (FoV) for each focal plane module.

The cadmium zinc telluride (CdZnTe) detectors are [state of the art](/source/State_of_the_art) room temperature [semiconductors](/source/Semiconductor) that are very efficient at turning [high energy photons](/source/High_Energy_Photon_Source) into [electrons](/source/Electron). The electrons are digitally recorded using custom [application-specific integrated circuits](/source/Application-specific_integrated_circuit) (ASICs) designed by the NuSTAR [California Institute of Technology](/source/California_Institute_of_Technology) (CalTech) Focal Plane Team. Each pixel has an independent discriminator and individual X-ray interactions trigger the readout process. On-board processors, one for each telescope, identify the row and column with the largest pulse height and read out pulse height information from this pixel as well as its eight neighbors. The event time is recorded to an accuracy of 2 μs relative to the on-board clock. The event location, energy, and depth of interaction in the detector are computed from the nine-pixel signals.[22][23]

The focal planes are shielded by [cesium iodide](/source/Caesium_iodide) (CsI) crystals that surround the detector housings. The crystal shields, grown by [Saint-Gobain](/source/Saint-Gobain), register high energy photons and cosmic rays which cross the focal plane from directions other than the along the NuSTAR optical axis. Such events are the primary background for NuSTAR and must be properly identified and subtracted in order to identify high energy photons from cosmic sources. The NuSTAR active shielding ensures that any CZT detector event coincident with an active shield event is ignored.

## Major scientific results

NuSTAR has made many discoveries in a wide variety of areas of astrophysical research since its launch.

### Spin measurement of a supermassive black hole

In February 2013, NASA revealed that NuSTAR, along with the [XMM-Newton](/source/XMM-Newton) space observatory, has measured the spin rate of the [supermassive black hole](/source/Supermassive_black_hole) at the center of the galaxy [NGC 1365](/source/NGC_1365).[24] By measuring the frequency change of X-ray light emitted from the black hole corona, NuSTAR was able to view material from the corona be drawn closer to the [event horizon](/source/Event_horizon). This caused inner portions of the black hole's [accretion disk](/source/Accretion_disk) to be illuminated with X-rays, allowing this elusive region to be studied by astronomers for spin rates.[24]

NuSTAR has captured these first, focused views of the supermassive black hole at the heart of our galaxy in high-energy X-ray light.

Black hole with corona, an X-ray source
(artist's concept)[25]

Blurring of X-rays near black hole
(NuSTAR; 12 August 2014)[25]

### Tracing radioactivity in a supernova remnant

Andromeda

One of NuSTAR's main goals is to characterize stars' explosions by mapping the radioactive material in a [supernova remnants](/source/Supernova_remnant). The NuSTAR map of [Cassiopeia A](/source/Cassiopeia_A) shows the [titanium-44](/source/Isotopes_of_titanium) isotope concentrated in clumps at the remnant's center and points to a possible solution to the mystery of how the star exploded. When researchers simulate supernova blasts with computers, as a massive star dies and collapses, the main shock wave often stalls and the star fails to shatter. The latest findings strongly suggest the exploding star literally sloshed around, re-energizing the stalled shock wave and allowing the star to finally blast off its outer layers.[26]

### Nearby supermassive black holes

In January 2017, researchers from [Durham University](/source/Durham_University) and the [University of Southampton](/source/University_of_Southampton), leading a coalition of agencies using NuSTAR data, announced the discovery of supermassive black holes at the center of nearby galaxies [NGC 1448](/source/NGC_1448) and IC 3639.[27][28][29]

### Measurement of temperature variations of AGN wind

In March 2nd of 2017, NuSTAR published an article to Nature detailing observations of wind temperature variations around [AGN](/source/Active_galactic_nucleus) [IRAS 13224−3809](/source/IRAS_13224-3809). By detecting periodic absences of absorption lines in the X-ray spectrum from the accretion disk winds, NuSTAR and [XMM-Newton](/source/XMM-Newton) observed heating and cooling cycles of the relativistic winds leaving the [accretion disk](/source/Accretion_disk).[30][31]

### Detection of light reflecting behind a black hole

This representation of a black hole shows both sides of the accretion disk: in this case, gas above and below the black event horizon is from behind the black hole, while gas flowing in front is from the observer's side.

NuSTAR and [XMM-Newton](/source/XMM-Newton) detected X-rays emitted behind the supermassive black hole within [Seyfert 1 galaxy](/source/Seyfert_galaxy) I Zwicky 1. Upon studying the flashes of light emitted by the corona of the black hole, researchers noticed that some detected light arrived to the detector later than the rest, with a corresponding [change in frequency](/source/Redshift). The Stanford University team of scientists that led the study concluded that this change was directly attributable to radiation from the flash reflecting off of the accretion disk on the opposing side of the black hole. The path of this reflected light was bent by the high spacetime curvature, directed to the detector after the initial flash.[32][33]

### Ultra-luminous neutron star violating the Eddington limit

A neutron star surrounded by an accretion disk. Disk material that falls on to the surface of the star will release x-rays as radiation, contributing to the observed luminosity. When this luminosity is greater than what the Eddington limit predicts from the star mass, this object is known as a Ultraluminous X-ray source (ULX).

In April 6th of 2023, the NuSTAR team confirmed that neutron star [M82 X-2](/source/M82_X-2) was emitting more radiation than was physically thought possible due to the [Eddington limit](/source/Eddington_luminosity), officially labeling it as an [Ultraluminous X-ray source](/source/Ultraluminous_X-ray_source) (ULX).[34][35]

## See also

- [Astronomy portal](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portal:Astronomy)
- [Physics portal](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portal:Physics)
- [Spaceflight portal](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portal:Spaceflight)

- [Explorer program](/source/Explorer_program)

- [Gravity and Extreme Magnetism](/source/Gravity_and_Extreme_Magnetism), hard X-ray telescope measuring polarization (cancelled 2012)

- [James Webb Space Telescope](/source/James_Webb_Space_Telescope), infrared telescope launched on 25 December 2021

- [XRISM](/source/X-Ray_Imaging_and_Spectroscopy_Mission), joint Japanese and American X-ray telescope

- [List of X-ray space telescopes](/source/List_of_X-ray_space_telescopes)

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1. **[^](#cite_ref-Boorman2016_29-0)** Boorman, Peter G.; Gandhi, P.; Alexander, D. M.; Annuar, A.; Ballantyne, D. R.; et al. (December 2016). ["IC 3639—a New Bona Fide Compton-Thick AGN Unveiled by NuSTAR"](https://doi.org/10.3847%2F1538-4357%2F833%2F2%2F245). *The Astrophysical Journal*. **833** (2). 245. [arXiv](/source/ArXiv_(identifier)):[1610.08997](https://arxiv.org/abs/1610.08997). [Bibcode](/source/Bibcode_(identifier)):[2016ApJ...833..245B](https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2016ApJ...833..245B). [doi](/source/Doi_(identifier)):[10.3847/1538-4357/833/2/245](https://doi.org/10.3847%2F1538-4357%2F833%2F2%2F245). [S2CID](/source/S2CID_(identifier)) [36679784](https://api.semanticscholar.org/CorpusID:36679784).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-30)** Parker, Michael L.; Pinto, Ciro; Fabian, Andrew C.; Lohfink, Anne; Buisson, Douglas J. K.; Alston, William N.; Kara, Erin; Cackett, Edward M.; Chiang, Chia-Ying; Dauser, Thomas; De Marco, Barbara; Gallo, Luigi C.; Garcia, Javier; Harrison, Fiona A.; King, Ashley L. (2 March 2017). ["The response of relativistic outflowing gas to the inner accretion disk of a black hole"](https://dx.doi.org/10.1038/nature21385). *Nature*. **543** (7643): 83–86. [arXiv](/source/ArXiv_(identifier)):[1703.00071](https://arxiv.org/abs/1703.00071). [Bibcode](/source/Bibcode_(identifier)):[2017Natur.543...83P](https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2017Natur.543...83P). [doi](/source/Doi_(identifier)):[10.1038/nature21385](https://doi.org/10.1038%2Fnature21385). [ISSN](/source/ISSN_(identifier)) [0028-0836](https://search.worldcat.org/issn/0028-0836). [PMID](/source/PMID_(identifier)) [28252065](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28252065). [S2CID](/source/S2CID_(identifier)) [4394261](https://api.semanticscholar.org/CorpusID:4394261).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-31)** ["Temperature Swings of Black Hole Winds Measured for First Time"](https://nustar.caltech.edu/news/nustar170301). *NuSTAR*. Retrieved 24 April 2023.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-32)** ["NuSTAR and XMM-Newton See Light Echo from Behind a Black Hole"](https://nustar.caltech.edu/news/129). *NuSTAR*. Retrieved 24 April 2023.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-33)** Wilkins, D. R.; Gallo, L. C.; Costantini, E.; Brandt, W. N.; Blandford, R. D. (28 July 2021). ["Light bending and X-ray echoes from behind a supermassive black hole"](https://dx.doi.org/10.1038/s41586-021-03667-0). *Nature*. **595** (7869): 657–660. [arXiv](/source/ArXiv_(identifier)):[2107.13555](https://arxiv.org/abs/2107.13555). [Bibcode](/source/Bibcode_(identifier)):[2021Natur.595..657W](https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2021Natur.595..657W). [doi](/source/Doi_(identifier)):[10.1038/s41586-021-03667-0](https://doi.org/10.1038%2Fs41586-021-03667-0). [ISSN](/source/ISSN_(identifier)) [0028-0836](https://search.worldcat.org/issn/0028-0836). [PMID](/source/PMID_(identifier)) [34321670](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34321670). [S2CID](/source/S2CID_(identifier)) [236493644](https://api.semanticscholar.org/CorpusID:236493644).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-34)** ["NASA Study Helps Explain Limit-Breaking Ultra-Luminous X-Ray Sources"](https://nustar.caltech.edu/news/nustar230406). *NuSTAR*. Retrieved 24 April 2023.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-35)** Bachetti, Matteo; et al. (October 2022). ["Orbital decay in M82 X-2"](https://doi.org/10.3847%2F1538-4357%2Fac8d67). *The Astrophysical Journal*. **937** (2): 125. [arXiv](/source/ArXiv_(identifier)):[2112.00339](https://arxiv.org/abs/2112.00339). [Bibcode](/source/Bibcode_(identifier)):[2022ApJ...937..125B](https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2022ApJ...937..125B). [doi](/source/Doi_(identifier)):[10.3847/1538-4357/ac8d67](https://doi.org/10.3847%2F1538-4357%2Fac8d67). [hdl](/source/Hdl_(identifier)):[2299/25784](https://hdl.handle.net/2299%2F25784).

## External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to [NuSTAR](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:NuSTAR).

- [NuSTAR website](https://science.nasa.gov/mission/nustar) at nasa.gov

- [NuSTAR website](http://www.nustar.caltech.edu/) at caltech.edu

- [Building, Launching, and Using the NuSTAR X-ray Observatory](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bRd7vq5HIhM), talk by Melania Nynka of the [MIT Kavli Institute](/source/MIT_Kavli_Institute)

**Further reading**

- Craig, David J. (Spring 2010). ["X-Ray Specs"](http://magazine.columbia.edu/sites/dev.magazine.columbia.edu/files/pdf/xraySpecs.pdf) (PDF). *Columbia University*: 24–27.

- Harrison, Fiona A.; Boggs, Steve; Christensen, Finn; Craig, William; Hailey, Charles; et al. (29 July 2010). Arnaud, Monique; Murray, Stephen S.; Takahashi, Tadayuki (eds.). [*The Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array (NuSTAR)*](https://web.archive.org/web/20110717131423/http://www.nustar.caltech.edu/uploads/files/harrison_spie2010_7732_27.pdf) (PDF). Space Telescopes and Instrumentation 2010: Ultraviolet to Gamma Ray. Vol. 7732. p. 77320S. [arXiv](/source/ArXiv_(identifier)):[1008.1362](https://arxiv.org/abs/1008.1362). [Bibcode](/source/Bibcode_(identifier)):[2010SPIE.7732E..0SH](https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2010SPIE.7732E..0SH). [doi](/source/Doi_(identifier)):[10.1117/12.858065](https://doi.org/10.1117%2F12.858065). [S2CID](/source/S2CID_(identifier)) [121923451](https://api.semanticscholar.org/CorpusID:121923451). Archived from [the original](http://www.nustar.caltech.edu/uploads/files/harrison_spie2010_7732_27.pdf) (PDF) on 17 July 2011.

v t e Explorers Program List of Explorers Program missions Missions 1958–1992 Explorer 1 2† 3 4 5† S-1† 6 (S-2) 7 (S-1A) S-46A† 8 S-56† 9 (S-56A) S-45† 10 11 (S-15) S-45A† S-55† 12 (EPE-A) 13 (S-55A) 14 (EPE-B) 15 (EPE-C) 16 (S-55B) 17 (AE-A) 18 (IMP-A) 19 (AD-A) S-66A (BE-A)† 20 (IE-A) 21 (IMP-B) 22 (BE-B) 23 (S-55C) 24 (AD-B) 25 (Injun 4, IE-B) 26 (EPE-D) 27 (BE-C) 28 (IMP-C) 29 (GEOS-A) 30 (Solrad 8) 31 (DME-A) 32 (AE-B) 33 (IMP-D) 34 (IMP-F) 35 (IMP-E) 36 (GEOS-B) 37 (Solrad 9) 38 (RAE-A) 39 (AD-C) 40 (Injun 5) 41 (IMP-G) 42 (Uhuru, SAS-A) 43 (IMP-I) 44 (Solrad 10) 45 (SSS-A) 46 (MTS) 47 (IMP-H) 48 (SAS-B) 49 (RAE-B) 50 (IMP-J) 51 (AE-C) 52 (Hawkeye 1) 53 (SAS-C) 54 (AE-D) 55 (AE-E) DADE-A† DADE-B† 56 (ISEE-1) 57 (IUE) 58 (HCMM) 59 (ICE) 60 (SAGE) 61 (Magsat) 62 (DE-1) 63 (DE-2) 64 (SME) 65 (CCE) 66 (COBE) 67 (EUVE) Medium class (since 1992) 69 (RXTE) 71 (ACE) 77 (FUSE) 78 (IMAGE) 80 (WMAP) FAME 84 (Swift) 85–89 (THEMIS) 92 (WISE) 95 (TESS) 96 (ICON) 102 (SPHEREx) MUSE HelioSwarm UVEX Small class (since 1992) 68 (SAMPEX) 70 (FAST) 73 (TRACE) 74 (SWAS) 75 (WIRE)† 81 (RHESSI) 83 (GALEX) 90 (AIM) 91 (IBEX) 93 (NuSTAR) 94 (IRIS) GEMS 97 (IXPE) 98–101 (PUNCH) TRACERS COSI University-class/ Missions of opportunity/ International missions HETE-1† 72 (SNOE) 76 (TERRIERS)† 79 (HETE-2) INTEGRAL 82 (CHIPSat) CINDI Suzaku TWINS Hitomi† NICER GOLD XRISM GUSTO AWE SunRISE EZIE CASE Proposals Arcus ASTRE ESCAPE EXCEDE FINESSE OHMIC Green titles indicates active current missions Grey titles indicates cancelled missions Italics indicate missions yet to launch Symbol † indicates failure en route or before intended mission data returned

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v t e NASA Policy and history History (creation) NACA (1915) National Aeronautics and Space Act (1958) Space Task Group (1958) Paine (1986) Rogers (1986) Ride (1987) Space Exploration Initiative (1989) Augustine (1990) U.S. National Space Policy (1996) CFUSAI (2002) CAIB (2003) Vision for Space Exploration (2004) Aldridge (2004) Augustine (2009) General Space Race Administrator and Deputy Administrator Chief Scientist Astronaut Corps Ranks and positions Chief Budget NASA research spinoff technologies NASA+ NASA TV NASA Social Launch Services Program Mercury Control Center Manned Space Flight Network Kennedy Space Center Vehicle Assembly Building Launch Complex 39 39A 39B Launch Complex 48 Launch Control Center Operations and Checkout Building Johnson Space Center Mission Control Lunar Sample Laboratory Science Mission Directorate Human spaceflight programs Past X-15 (suborbital) Mercury Gemini Apollo Skylab Apollo–Soyuz (with the Soviet space program) Space Shuttle Shuttle–Mir (with Roscosmos) Constellation Current International Space Station Commercial Orbital Transportation Services Commercial Crew Orion Artemis Robotic programs Past Hitchhiker Mariner Mariner Mark II MESUR Mars Surveyor '98 New Millennium Lunar Orbiter Pioneer Planetary Observer Ranger Surveyor Viking Project Prometheus Mars Exploration Mars Exploration Rover Current Living With a Star Lunar Precursor Robotic Program Earth Observing System Great Observatories program Explorers Voyager Discovery New Frontiers Solar Terrestrial Probes Commercial Lunar Payload Services SIMPLEx Individual featured missions (human and robotic) Past Apollo 11 Artemis II COBE Mercury 3 Mercury-Atlas 6 Magellan Pioneer 10 Pioneer 11 Galileo timeline GALEX GRAIL WMAP Space Shuttle Spitzer Space Telescope Sojourner rover Spirit rover LADEE MESSENGER Aquarius Cassini Dawn Kepler space telescope Opportunity rover timeline observed RHESSI MAVEN InSight Ingenuity helicopter flights Currently operating Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter 2001 Mars Odyssey New Horizons International Space Station Hubble Space Telescope Chandra X-ray Observatory Swift Observatory THEMIS Curiosity rover timeline Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter SDO Juno Mars Science Laboratory timeline NuSTAR Voyager 1 Voyager 2 MMS OSIRIS-APEX TESS Mars 2020 Perseverance rover timeline James Webb Space Telescope timeline PACE Europa Clipper NISAR Future Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope DAVINCI VERITAS Communications and navigation Near Earth Network Space Network Deep Space Network (Goldstone Madrid Canberra Space Flight Operations Facility) Deep Space Atomic Clock NASA lists Astronauts by name by year Gemini astronauts Apollo astronauts Space Shuttle crews NASA aircraft NASA missions uncrewed missions Apollo missions Space Shuttle missions United States rockets NASA cancellations NASA cameras on spacecraft NASA images and artwork Earthrise The Blue Marble Family Portrait Pale Blue Dot Pillars of Creation Mystic Mountain Solar System Family Portrait The Day the Earth Smiled Hello, World Earthset Fallen Astronaut Deep fields Lunar plaques Pioneer plaques Voyager Golden Record Apollo 11 goodwill messages NASA insignia Gemini and Apollo medallions Mission patches Astronomy Picture of the Day Hubble Space Telescope anniversary images Related "We choose to go to the Moon" "One small step" Apollo 8 Genesis reading Apollo 15 postal covers incident Apollo Lunar Module Space Mirror Memorial The Astronaut Monument Lunar sample displays Moon rocks stolen or missing U.S. Astronaut Hall of Fame Space program on U.S. stamps Apollo 17 Moon mice Moon tree Other primates in space NASA Exoplanet Archive NASA International Space Apps Challenge Astronauts Day National Astronaut Day Nikon NASA F4 Category

v t e ← 2011 Orbital launches in 2012 2013 → January Ziyuan III-01, VesselSat-2 Fengyun 2-07 USA-233 Progress M-14M February Navid LARES, ALMASat-1, Xatcobeo, UniCubeSat-GG, ROBUSTA, e-st@r, Goliat, MaSat-1, PW-Sat SES-4 Compass-G5 MUOS-1 March Edoardo Amaldi ATV Intelsat 22 Kosmos 2479 Apstar 7 April USA-234 Kwangmyŏngsŏng-3 Progress M-15M YahSat-1B RISAT-1 Compass-M3, Compass-M4 May USA-235 Tianhui 1B Yaogan 14, Tiantuo 1 Soyuz TMA-04M JCSAT-13, Vinasat-2 Kosmos 2480 Shizuku, Kompsat 3, SDS-4, Horyu 2 Nimiq 6 SpaceX COTS Demo Flight 2, New Frontier Fajr ChinaSat 2A Yaogan 15 June Intelsat 19 NuSTAR Shenzhou 9 USA-236 / Quasar 18 USA-237 / Orion 8 July EchoStar XVII, MSG-3 SES-5 Soyuz TMA-05M Kounotori 3 (Raiko, We-Wish, Niwaka, TechEdSat, F-1) Kanopus-V1, BelKA-2, Zond-PP, TET-1, exactView-1 Tianlian I-03 Gonets-M No.3, Gonets-M No.4, Kosmos 2481, MiR August Progress M-16M (Sfera-53) Intelsat 20, HYLAS 2 Telkom-3, Ekspress-MD2 Intelsat 21 RBSP-A, RBSP-B September SPOT 6, PROITERES, mRESINS USA-238, SMDC-ONE 1.1, SMDC-ONE 1.2, AeroCube 4, AeroCube 4A, AeroCube 4B, Aeneas, Re, CSSWE, CP5, CXBN, CINEMA 1 MetOp-B Compass-M5, Compass-M6 Astra 2F, GSAT-10 VRSS-1 October USA-239 SpaceX CRS-1, Orbcomm-2 David, Sif Shijian 9-01, Shijian 9-02 Intelsat 23 Soyuz TMA-06M Compass G6 Progress M-17M November Luch 5B, Yamal-300K Eutelsat 21B, Star One C3 Meridian 6 Huanjing 1C EchoStar XVI Yaogan 16A, Yaogan 16B, Yaogan 16C ChinaSat 12 December Pléiades-HR 1B Eutelsat 70B Yamal-402 USA-240 Kwangmyŏngsŏng-3 Unit 2 Göktürk-2 Soyuz TMA-07M Skynet 5D, Mexsat Bicentenario Launches are separated by dots ( • ), payloads by commas ( , ), multiple names for the same satellite by slashes ( / ). Crewed flights are underlined. Launch failures are marked with the † sign. Payloads deployed from other spacecraft are (enclosed in parentheses).

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [NuSTAR](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NuSTAR) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NuSTAR?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.