Research Overview | FOXSI Sounding Rocket

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 three successful launches. It is the first solar-dedicated instrument to observe hard X-rays using focusing optics. Direct imaging enables the experiment to study solar 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 is scheduled for 2024 at Poker Flat Research Range in Alaska as part of NASA's first-ever solar flare campaign. Participating with two other rockets, FOXSI-4 will have a flexible two-week launch window, during which all three rockets will be prepared to launch simultaneously in the event of a medium or large solar flare.