Astro-E is the fifth in a series of Japanese astronomy satellites (see Astro- series) designed to observe celestial X-ray sources. Launched on 10 February 2000, it failed to reach orbit after the first stage of its M-5 launch vehicle malfunctioned. Astro-E carried three main science instruments developed in partnership with the Goddard Space Flight Center and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology: an X-ray spectrometer to provide high-resolution spectroscopy in the 0.4–10 keV range, four X-ray imaging spectrometers to take X-ray images of objects in the 0.4–12 keV range, and hard X-ray imaging detectors to measure high-energy X-rays above 10 keV. It was intended to complement the Chandra X-ray Observatory and the XMM-Newton Observatory.