Suzaku is an X-ray astronomy satellite built as a joint effort of NASA and the Japanese space agency ISAS. Observing the X-ray spectrum of the distant universe, Astro-E was to open a new window into the workings of black holes, neutron stars, active galaxies, and other very energetic objects.

Suzaku featured four instruments, among them NASA's XRS spectrometer inherited from the cancelled AXAF-S mission.

Shortly after launch, Suzaku lost the liquid Helium for cooling the XRS-2 detector, severely impacting the resolution of the instrument. All other instruments are operable and provided valuable results. Suzaku operated well beyond the two years design lifetime until in June 2015, when the satellite's communication system intermittently cut off. In August 2015, the mission was declared a loss and the satellite was switched off on 2 September 2015.