NASA's Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array, or NuSTAR, is now
perched atop its Pegasus XL rocket, strapped to the plane that
will carry the mission to an airborne launch. Launch is
scheduled for June 13, no earlier than 8:30 a.m. PDT (11:30 a.m.
EDT). The plane -- the L-1011 "Stargazer" aircraft -- is now at
Vandenberg Air Force Base in central California. It is scheduled
to fly to Kwajalein Atoll in the central Pacific Ocean from June
5 to 6. About an hour before launch, the plane will lift off
from the island, and drop NuSTAR and its rocket over the ocean.
The rocket will then ignite, carrying NuSTAR to its final orbit
around Earth's equator. NuSTAR will be the first space telescope
to create sharp images of X-rays with high energies, similar to
those used by doctors and dentists. It will conduct a census for
black holes, map radioactive material in young supernovae
remnants, and study the origins of cosmic rays and extreme
physics around collapsed stars. NuSTAR is a Small Explorer
mission led by the Cali