Ikuyuki Mitsuishi

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Japanese-U.S. team demonstrates X-ray telescope sharp enough for CubeSats, challenging billion-dollar observatory model

As of May 2026: Leading continued development; preparing upgraded mirror for FOXSI-5

For a quarter century, NASA's Chandra has dominated X-ray astronomy: a bus-sized, $1.65 billion observatory with mirrors 1.2 meters across. Now a team from Nagoya University and Japan's SPring-8 synchrotron has produced a single seamless 60-millimeter nickel mirror that matches Chandra's core sharpness — resolving an object 3.5 millimeters wide from a kilometer away.

Updated May 31

Notable Quotes

"The mirror is like a very precise funnel for X-rays. If any part of the funnel is even slightly out of place, the X-rays miss their target and the image blurs. It must also survive the intense vibrations of a sounding rocket launch while retaining its optical precision." — Ikuyuki Mitsuishi, Nagoya University

from Japanese-U.S. team demonstrates X-ray telescope sharp enough for CubeSats, challenging billion-dollar observatory model · Updated May 31