Hitomi (ASTRO-H) X-ray Astronomy Satellite

The Hitomi (ASTRO-H) mission is the sixth Japanese x-ray astronomy satellite developed by a large international collaboration, including Japan, USA, Canada, and Europe. The mission aimed to provide the highest energy resolution ever achieved at E > 2 keV, using a microcalorimeter instrument, and to cover a wide energy range spanning four decades in energy from soft x-rays to gamma rays. After a successful launch on February 17, 2016, the spacecraft lost its function on March 26, 2016, but the commissioning phase for about a month provided valuable information on the onboard instruments and the spacecraft system, including astrophysical results obtained from first light observations. Finally, the paper describes the Hitomi (ASTRO-H) mission, its capabilities, the initial operation, and the instruments/spacecraft performances confirmed during the commissioning operations for about a month.. Authors: Takahashi, Tadayuki; Kokubun, Motohide; Mitsuda, Kazuhisa; Kelley, Richard L.; Ohashi, Takaya. DOE Contract: AC02-76SF00515. Subjects: 79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS; Aerospace engineering; Physics; Satellites; Sensors; Space operations; X-ray astronomy; X-rays