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Published online by Cambridge University Press: 09 February 2017
Hitomi (ASTRO-H) is an X-ray observatory developed by an international collaboration led by JAXA. An X-ray microcalorimeter onboard this satellite has opened a new window of high-resolution spectroscopy with an unprecedented energy resolution of 5 eV (FWHM) at 6 keV. The spacecraft was launched on February 17, 2016 from Tanegashima Island, Japan, and we completed initial operations including deployment of the hard X-ray imagers on the extensible optical bench. All scientific instruments had successfully worked until the sudden loss of the mission on March 26. We have obtained a spectrum showing fully resolved emission lines through the first-light observation of the Perseus Cluster. The line-of-sight velocity dispersion of 164 ± 10 km s−1 reveals the quiescent environment of intracluster medium at the cluster core, implying that measured cluster mass requires little correction for the turbulent pressure. We also discuss observations to the Galactic Center which could be performed with Hitomi.