Future Developments in Balloon-Borne X-Ray Astronomy

Abstract

While Uhuru’s contribution to X-ray astronomy in the energy range 1 – 20 keV (and more particularly 2 – 10 keV) has been most impressive, it remains true that satellite observations outside this energy range, and particularly at energies above 20 keV which are also accessible to balloon-borne instrumentation, have been somewhat disappointing. We cannot forsee any likely marked improvement in this situation for at least four years and we believe therefore, that balloon-borne payloads can continue to contribute significantly to the study of hard X-ray sources.