An Overview of the HETE Soft X-ray Camera

A new type of imaging detector, the Soft X‐ray Camera (SXC), is now flying on the HETE‐2 satellite as part of the instrument suite to detect and localize GRBs. The low point spread function of CCDs combined with a finely ruled and highly aligned coded mask results in a compact instrument (∼10 cm on a side) which can localize transients with high precision (∼30 arcseconds) over a large field of view (∼1 sr). We present an overview of the design, fabrication, and testing of the SXC. The in‐flight performance and capabilities are then presented. Finally, the adverse effects of the space environment (in particular the micrometeorite flux and increased atomic oxygen concentrations during solar maximum) on the SXC, and the steps taken to mitigate these effects are discussed. Both GRBs and XRBs are being routinely localized with high accuracy by the SXC.