Hard X-ray Modulation Telescope
Rendering of HXMT | |
| Mission type | Astronomy |
|---|---|
| Operator | CAS / IHEP |
| COSPAR ID | 2017-034A |
| SATCAT no. | 42758 |
| Website | http://www.hxmt.org/ |
| Mission duration | Elapsed: 8 years, 3 days |
| Spacecraft properties | |
| Launch mass | 2,800 kg (6,200 lb) |
| Dimensions | 2.0 × 2.0 × 2.8 m (6.6 × 6.6 × 9.2 ft) |
| Start of mission | |
| Launch date | June 14, 2017, 03:00:00 UTC |
| Rocket | Long March 4B |
| Launch site | 603 Launch Pad of the LC43 Launch Complex, Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center |
| Orbital parameters | |
| Reference system | Geocentric |
| Regime | Low Earth |
| Semi-major axis | 6,920 km (4,300 mi) |
| Eccentricity | 0.0006597 |
| Perigee altitude | 545 km (339 mi) |
| Apogee altitude | 554.1 km (344.3 mi) |
| Inclination | 43.0° |
| Period | 95.5 minutes |
| Mean motion | 15.079 rev/day |
| Epoch | 2017-06-22 11:32:39 UTC |
Hard X-ray Modulation Telescope (HXMT) also known as Insight (Chinese: 慧眼) is a Chinese X-ray space observatory, launched on June 15, 2017 to observe black holes, neutron stars, active galactic nuclei and other phenomena based on their X-ray and gamma-ray emissions. It is based on the JianBing 3 imagery reconnaissance satellite series platform.
The project, a joint collaboration of the Ministry of Science and Technology of China, the Chinese Academy of Sciences, and Tsinghua University, has been under development since 2000.