On December 1, 2022, 55 individuals gathered to hear Professor Enectali Figueroa-Feliciano present CIERA’s Interdisciplinary Colloquium. His talk, “Extremely Cool Detectors on a Fireball: Launching the Micro-X Sounding Rocket” explored the science behind the NASA-sponsored project. The Micro-X Sounding Rocket completed its second flight on August 21, 2022 and successfully captured an X-ray snapshot of supernova remnant Cassiopeia A, located approximately 11,000 light years from Earth. During the colloquium, Professor Figueroa-Feliciano described the array of superconducting Transition-Edge Sensors that constitute the Micro-X Rocket’s detector, challenges presented by launch environments, and the engineering and scientific solutions his team came up with to ensure the project’s success.
Introduced by CIERA Director Dr. Vicky Kalogera, Professor Figueroa-Feliciano is a member of the Northwestern Department of Physics and Astronomy.
Read the related Northwestern News stories about the rocket launch: