Japan on Wednesday launched a new generation X-ray astronomy satellite aiming to reveal the structure of the universe and physics at extreme conditions in space.
本周三，日本发射一颗新一代X射线天文卫星，旨在揭示宇宙结构与太空中极端条件下的物理现象。
The Japan
Aerospace1 Exploration Agency (JAXA) and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd. launched the X-ray Astronomy Satellite (ASTRO-H) aboard the H-2A Launch Vehicle at 5:45 p.m. (0845 GMT) on Wednesday from JAXA's Tanegashima Space Center in Japan's southwestern Kagoshima prefecture.
About 14 minutes after liftoff, ASTRO-H separated from the rocket. The satellite has been released from the upper stage of the H-2A rocket to begin a three-year mission.
The launch was scheduled for Feb.12, but was
postponed2 due to unfavorable weather conditions.
The ASTRO-H satellite is the sixth in a series of Japanese X-ray missions since 1979 and is the successor to the SUZAKU satellite currently in space. Wednesday's launch is the first of the year 2016 for Japan.
ASTRO-H will "investigate the
mechanisms3 of how
galaxy4 clusters - the largest objects in space made of 'visible matter' - formed and influenced by dark energy and dark matter, to reveal the formation and evolution of supermassive black holes at the center of
galaxies5, and to
unearth6 the physical laws governing extreme conditions in
neutron7 stars and black holes," said JAXA.
收听单词发音 
