| 7 | | The Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array (NuSTAR) mission, launched on June 13, 2012, is the first space-based, focusing high-energy X-ray telescope. NuSTAR operates in the 3-79 keV energy band, well beyond the range (~ 8 keV) of previous focusing X-ray telescopes. Combining sub-arcminute angular resolution (more than 10 times better than previous hard X-ray missions) with the superb energy resolution of a solid state detector, NuSTAR provides a sensitivity up to 100 times better than that of previous hard X-ray missions; it opens a new window on the high energy universe. I will report the mission design, in-flight performance and first results from the science program. It is of particular note that NuSTAR's sharp X-ray eyes were built here at Columbia. |
