Astro-H is now nammed "Hitomi" 
(meaning the pupil)
Last news from JAXA (February, 14): Launch scheduled for February 17th, 9h45 Paris time
February 11 :Du to weather conditions, the launch of ASTRO-H is postponed.
The Japanese Space Agency (JAXA) announces the launch date of the X-ray satellite Astro-H by a H-IIA rocket astronomy on February 12, 2016 between 9:45 and 10.30 French civil time (17h45-18h30 in Japan) from the center Tanegashima space (with a possible launch window up to February 29).
The live broadcast of the launch is provided by JAXA and can be accessed at:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kH-wJ1E00wA.
The space mission ASTRO-H is a new generation X-ray and gamma observatory developed by the Japanese Space Agency (JAXA / ISAS) with a partnership at NASA and ESA. The scientific objectives of the mission are the observation and study of hot and high energy Universe. The payload includes six instruments for observing the sky in the range 0.3-600 keV. Astro-H offers unique performances in terms of spectroscopy at very high spectral resolution (instrument SXS) through the use of matrices of X-ray microcalorimeters, a first in this field.
The Astrophysics Department of CEA-IRFU participates in the mission as part of the contribution of ESA. It is involved experimentally in two instruments (HXI and SGD) and participates in the scientific program of the mission. CEA has performed important tests of the DS-CdTE detectors (Double-sided CdTe strip detector) and measured the effect of cosmic radiations on the satellite electronics.
(Credit: JAXA)
A press kit (in English), describing the Astro-H mission and edited by JAXA, is available here.
For more information :
The ASTRO-H de l'ISAS/JAXA website
The ASTRO-H de l'ESA website
See also the Sap website :
L’observatoire spatial ASTRO-H (31 juillet 2014, in French)
Contacts: Olivier Limousin, Philippe Laurent
