Cosmic X-ray satellite 'Hakucho'

Instrumentation and initial performance of the X-ray astronomy satellite Hakucho are described. The satellite has a semicircular orbit with inclination of 29.9 deg. It is spin stabilized, and its attitude is controlled by magnetic torquing. Seven X-ray counters have fields of view almost parallel to the spin axis and cover the energy range 0.1-100 keV, whereas four counters have their optical axis perpendicular to the spin axis and cover the energy range 0.1-30 keV. These counters watch for the appearance of X-ray bursts in a sky region around the direction of the spin axis, and survey a large part of the sky for X-ray sources.