Experts will use it to conduct a survey for massive black holes

Mar 3, 2012 09:35 GMT  ·  By
NuSTAR is seen here at the VAFB, undergoing nose cone integration procedures
   NuSTAR is seen here at the VAFB, undergoing nose cone integration procedures

This image was taken at the Vandenberg Air Force Base (VAFB), and shows technicians tucking the Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array (NuSTAR) inside the nose cone fairing of the Pegasus XL delivery system that will take it to orbit.

Current plans call for the spacecraft to be launched from underneath the L-1011 Stargrazer aircraft, which will take off from the Kwajalein Atoll no earlier than March 21. The rocket, the spacecraft and the airplane were all built by Virginia-based Orbital Sciences Corporation.

The installation process is scheduled to conclude today, March 3. After additional tests are conducted, the satellite and its rocket will be flown to the Pacific atoll, also aboard the Stargrazer.

The purpose of the NuSTAR mission is to conduct a survey of supermassive black holes heavier than one billion times the mass of the Sun. The telescope will also try to understand how natural particle accelerators form inside galaxies.