VSOP-2 Mission

The VSOP-2 mission is centered around the ASTRO-G satellite, scheduled to be launched by the Japanese space agency, JAXA, in early 2013 (Japanese Fiscal Year 2012). VSOP-2 is a Space Very Long Baseline Interferometry (Space VLBI) mission, which will employ a 10m radio-astronomy antenna aboard the ASTRO-G satellite as one element of an interferometer that also will include a variety of ground radio telescopes. The ASTRO-G satellite will be in an elliptical orbit with a period of 7.5 hours and an apogee height of 25,000 km; this orbit enables excellent aperture-plane coverage with a maximum baseline of 30,000 km when the satellite is combined with a well-distributed network of ground telescopes such as the NRAO Very Long Baseline Array. The satelllite will observe at frequencies of 8, 22, and 43 GHz, achieving an imaging resolution slightly better than 40 microarcseconds when combined with a ground array at 43 GHz.

Further information describing the VSOP-2 mission can be found at the following web links.

• Overall Mission Description (at JAXA)
• VSOP-2 Project Site
• Mission Summary for DS2010

Hosted by NRAO on behalf of the US VSOP-2 Science Team.