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Suzaku (satellite)
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<p><i>Suzaku</i> (formerly ASTRO-EII) was an <a href="/facts/X-ray_astronomy/KAQ6WxgQ">X-ray astronomy</a> satellite developed jointly by the <a href="/facts/Institute_of_Space_and_Aeronautical_Science/qYEDPVWN">Institute of Space and Aeronautical Science</a> at <a href="/facts/JAXA/ofUpflgf">JAXA</a> and <a href="/facts/NASA/TIMCV0yV">NASA</a>'s <a href="/facts/Goddard_Space_Flight_Center/WfoEKknM">Goddard Space Flight Center</a> to probe high-energy X-ray sources, such as <a href="/facts/Supernova/Pfo2J23l">supernova explosions</a>, <a href="/facts/Black_hole/1r2lmkcF">black holes</a> and <a href="/facts/Open_cluster/UodlJqcx">galactic clusters</a>. It was launched on 10 July 2005 aboard the <a href="/facts/M-V/tGa6NrNl">M-V</a> launch vehicle on the M-V-6 mission. After its successful launch, the satellite was renamed <i>Suzaku</i> after the mythical <a href="/facts/Vermilion_Bird/HR0ekv3d">Vermilion bird of the South</a>. </p><p>Just weeks after launch, on 29 July 2005, the first of a series of cooling system malfunctions occurred. These ultimately caused the entire reservoir of <a href="/facts/Liquid_helium/JYXCAcDf">liquid helium</a> to boil off into space by 8 August 2005. This effectively shut down the <a href="/facts/X-ray_spectroscopy/spWfPwYK">X-ray Spectrometer-2</a> (XRS-2), which was the spacecraft's primary instrument. The two other instruments, the X-ray Imaging Spectrometer (XIS) and the Hard X-ray Detector (HXD), were unaffected by the malfunction. As a result, another XRS was integrated into the <a href="/facts/Hitomi_(satellite)/7G6gldt1">Hitomi X-ray satellite</a>, launched in 2016, which also was lost weeks after launch. A Hitomi successor, <a href="/facts/X-Ray_Imaging_and_Spectroscopy_Mission/VhDbljxt">XRISM</a>, launched on 7 September 2023, with an X-ray Spectrometer (Resolve) onboard as the primary instrument. </p><p>On 26 August 2015, JAXA announced that communications with <i>Suzaku</i> had been intermittent since 1 June 2015 and that the resumption of scientific operations would take a lot of work to accomplish, given the spacecraft's condition. Mission operators decided to complete the mission imminently, as <i>Suzaku</i> had exceeded its design lifespan by eight years at this point. The mission came to an end on 2 September 2015, when JAXA commanded the radio transmitters on <i>Suzaku</i> to switch themselves off. </p>