Earth's atmosphere blocks out all X-rays, therefore only a telescope in space can detect and study celestial X-ray sources. The XMM-Newton mission will help scientists solve a number of cosmic mysteries, ranging from the enigmatic holes to the origins of the Universe itself.
			The XMM-Newton mission derives its name from its X-ray Multi-Mirror design and honours Sir Isaac Newton, but was formally called High Throughput X- Spectroscopy Mission because of its great capacity to detect X-rays.
	Type		XMM-Newton is a three-axis stabilised spacecraft with a pointing accuracy of one arcsec.
	Mass		3.8 tonnes
	Size		Total length is 10 metres, 16 metres span with solar arrays deployed
	Mirrors		three barrel-shaped Mirror Modules, containing 58 "Wolter-type" wafer-thin concentric mirrors, 0.3 metres to 0.7 metres in diameter and 0.6 metres in length
	Telescope  optics		Focal length is 7.5 m Resolution is 5 arcsec (full width half-maximum), 14 arcsec (half energy width) at all wavelengths
	X-ray  optics		Spectral range of 1 - 120 nanometres (12 keV - 0.1 keV)
	Total  collecting  area		4 300 cm2 at 1.5 keV, 1 800 cm2 at 8 keV
	EPIC		Three European Photon Imaging Cameras (EPIC) produced by a consortium made up of ten Institutes in four nations: the UK, Italy, Franceand Germany. EPIC Principal Investigator is Prof. Martin Turner of the X-ray Astronomy Group at Leicester University, UK. One of the cameras uses new type of CCD (PN) developed by the Max Planck Institute of extraterrestrial Physics in Garching, Germany.
	RGS		Two Reflection Grating Spectrometers (RGS). The Principal Investigator is Prof. Bert Brinkman of the High-Energy Astronomy division SRON, Utrecht Netherlands with co-Investigator Steven Kahn from Columbia University, NY USA
	OM		The Optical Monitor (OM), co-aligned with the main X-ray telescope, gives the XMM-Newton mission a multi-wavelength capacity. The Mullard Space Science Laboratory (MSSL) UK has supplied this 30 cm aperture Richtey-Chretien telescope (with a 170 - 600 nanometre spectral range). OM Principal Investigator is Prof. Keith Mason
	ERMS		the EPIC Radiation Monitor System is a particle detector, developed by the Centre d'Etude Spatiale des Rayonnements (CESR) in Toulouse, France. Its role is to measure the radiation levels in the Earth's radiation belts and from solar flares, radiation that can perturb the sensitive CCD detectors of the main science instruments.
	Date		Kouirou, 10 December 1999
	Vehicle		Ariane-5 , V503
			The XMM-Newton spacecraft has been placed in a 48 hour elliptical orbit around the Earth. Inclined at 40° with a Southern apogee at 114 000 km, the perigee altitude will be 7 000 km. After the satellite has passed through the Earth's radiation belts, astronomers will have the observatory at their disposal for some 40 hours a week.
			Operational lifetime of two to ten years, controlled by the European Space Operations Centre (ESOC, Darmstadt Germany)using ground stations at Perth (Australia) and Kourou (French Guiana).