Neutron Star Interior Composition Explorer

The Neutron Star Interior Composition ExploreR (NICER) is a NASA telescope on the International Space Station, designed and dedicated to the study of the extraordinary gravitational, electromagnetic, and nuclear physics environments embodied by neutron stars, exploring the exotic states of matter where density and pressure are higher than in atomic nuclei. As part of NASA's Explorer program, NICER enabled rotation-resolved spectroscopy of the thermal and non-thermal emissions of neutron stars in the soft X-ray (0.2–12 keV) band with unprecedented sensitivity, probing interior structure, the origins of dynamic phenomena, and the mechanisms that underlie the most powerful cosmic particle accelerators known. NICER achieved these goals by deploying, following the launch, and activation of X-ray timing and spectroscopy instruments. NICER was selected by NASA to proceed to formulation phase in April 2013.

NICER
NICER telescope mounted on the Integrated Truss Structure of the International Space Station
Mission typeNeutron star astrophysics
OperatorNASA / GSFC / MIT
Websitehttps://heasarc.gsfc.nasa.gov/docs/nicer/
Mission duration18 months (planned)
6 years, 8 months and 8 days (in progress)
Spacecraft properties
Launch mass372 kg (820 lb)
Start of mission
Launch date3 June 2017, 21:07:38 UTC
RocketFalcon 9 Full Thrust, B1035.1
Launch siteKennedy Space Center, LC-39A
ContractorSpaceX
Orbital parameters
Reference systemGeocentric orbit
RegimeLow Earth orbit
Perigee altitude402 km (250 mi)
Apogee altitude407 km (253 mi)
Inclination51.64°
Period92.66 minutes
Instruments
X-ray Timing Instrument (XTI)

NICER * SEXTANT mission patch
Explorer program
 

NICER-SEXTANT uses the same instrument to test X-ray timing for positioning and navigation, and MXS is a test of X-ray timing communication. In January 2018, X-ray navigation was demonstrated using NICER on ISS.

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