MAX: Formation flying for nuclear astrophysics

Abstract

In 2004 CNES decided to perform 4 phase 0 studies dedicated to Astrophysics and achieved thanks to Formation Flying space systems: ASPICS (A Solar Physics Mission to observe in UV and Visible the Solar Corona between 1.01 and 3.2 Solar Radius), PEGASE (an IR interferometry mission to observe Hot Jupiter, Brown Dwarfs and Proto planetary disks), SIMBOL-X (hard X-rays telescope to observe: Accretion onto compact objects, Black Holes, obscured Galactic Nuclei, . . . .) and MAX (a Nuclear Astrophysics Mission to observe: Supernovae, Neutron Stars,. . .). For this last mission, presented here, two spectral bands around important gamma-ray lines have been selected (450–530 and 800–900 keV). The formation flight allows to realise a long focal length of 80–90m which is necessary to build a reasonably sized gamma-ray telescope based on a Laue crystal lens. The Space System design allows to have a good spacecrafts mass margin in High Elliptical Orbit with a Soyuz launch (Initial Orbit: Perigee altitude ∼44,000 km and Apogee altitude ∼253,000 km).