An Example: Development of the ASCA (ASTRO-D) Project

To show the procedures involved in an ISAS project, the development of ASCA, an ISAS X-ray astronomy satellite, is described in detail. The ASCA satellite was launched in 1993, and since then has observed a lot of X-ray sources of space origin to investigate the riddles of astronomical phenomena, such as active galactic nuclei, supernova remnants, black holes, etc.

• 1. Mission Planning
• 2. International Collaboration
• 3. Mission Approval
• 4. System Management
• 5. Implementation of Satellite
• 6. Qualification Test
• 7. Flight Operation
• 8. Operation of Satellite in Orbit