NinjaSat: Astronomical X-ray CubeSat Observatory
Toru Tamagawa, Teruaki Enoto, Takao Kitaguchi, Wataru Iwakiri, Yo Kato, Masaki Numazawa, Tatehiro Mihara, Tomoshi Takeda, Naoyuki Ota, Sota Watanabe, Amira Aoyama, Satoko Iwata, Takuya Takahashi, Kaede Yamasaki, Chin-Ping Hu, Hiromitsu Takahashi, Yuto Yoshida, Hiroki Sato

TL;DR
NinjaSat is a compact X-ray CubeSat capable of long-term, agile observations of bright X-ray sources, successfully detecting pulsations and observing multiple sources, demonstrating the viability of CubeSats for time-domain X-ray astronomy.
Contribution
This paper presents the design, deployment, and successful scientific observations of NinjaSat, a novel 6U X-ray CubeSat, showcasing its capabilities for continuous X-ray source monitoring.
Findings
Detected pulsations from the Crab Nebula's neutron star.
Successfully observed 21 X-ray sources within three months.
Demonstrated effective scientific use of CubeSats in X-ray astronomy.
Abstract
NinjaSat is an X-ray CubeSat designed for agile, long-term continuous observations of bright X-ray sources, with the size of 6U ( mm) and a mass of 8 kg. NinjaSat is capable of pointing at X-ray sources with an accuracy of less than (2 confidence level) with 3-axis attitude control. The satellite bus is a commercially available NanoAvionics M6P, equipped with two non-imaging gas X-ray detectors covering an energy range of 2-50 keV. A total effective area of 32 cm at 6 keV is capable of observing X-ray sources with a flux of approximately 10 erg cm s. The arrival time of each photon can be tagged with a time resolution of 61 s. The two radiation belt monitors continuously measure the fluxes of protons above 5 MeV and electrons above 200 keV trapped in the geomagnetic field, alerting the X-ray…
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Taxonomy
TopicsAstronomy and Astrophysical Research · Astrophysics and Cosmic Phenomena · Gamma-ray bursts and supernovae
