Research Overview

FOXSI-2 sounding rocket launch taking off from White Sands, New Mexico
FOXSI-1 sounding rocket horizontal on the launch pad in White Sands, New Mexico
FOXSI-1 optics modules with collimators mounted
FOXSI-3 team members working in the control room at White Sands
FOXSI-3 team member in the control room at White Sands
Gloved hands dissembling the detector side of the FOXSI-2 payload
FOXSI-3 team members recover the payload from White Sands Missile Range, New Mexico

What is FOXSI?

The Focusing Optics X-ray Solar Imager (FOXSI) is a sub-orbital rocket project with four successful launches (and gearing up for a fifth in winter/spring 2025-2026!) It is the first solar-dedicated instrument to observe hard X-rays using focusing optics. Direct imaging enables the experiment to study solar X-ray radiation with enhanced sensitivity and dynamic range, exploring issues of energy release and particle acceleration in the corona—the outermost layer of the Sun.

FOXSI-4

The rocket’s fourth launch successfully occurred in April 2024 at Poker Flat Research Range in Alaska as part of NASA's first-ever solar flare campaign. Hi-C and FOXSI-4 observed an M1 class solar flare simultaneously.

Read more about FOXSI-4