XMM, the world's largest and most powerful X-ray telescope, was launched from Kourou, French Guiana, on 10 December 1999, by an Ariane 5 launcher. The mission's scientific data is being received, processed and dispatched to astronomers by ESA's XMM Science Operations Centre in Villafranca, Spain. The first three images are to be displayed on 9 February 2000. The pictures will show parts of the sky never seen before in X-ray light. XMM has been renamed the XMM Newton Observatory by ESA scientists.
This VNR provides an overview of XMM and the announcement of forthcoming XMM images. It contains two A-rolls with commentary in English and Spanish. The B-roll footage includes: XMM graphics; Ariane 5 launch of XMM; Control and Operations Centre, Darmstadt, Germany; XMM cleanroom footage; black hole animation; starfield animation; various images from Rosat German X-ray Observatory; various supernova remnants; expansion cloud from Supernova 1987A; various shots of XMM Science Centre, Villafranca, Spain, ESOC, Villafr

Shotlist
begin
10:00:00 opening titles
10:00:53 menu
10:01:03 English A-roll
10:05:12 Spanish A-roll
10:07:16 start of B-roll
10:07:27 XMM graphics in space
10:08:12 XMM orbit graphics
10:08:25 gvs Ariane 5 launch of XMM
10:09:14 gvs Control and Operations Centre, Darmstadt, Germany
10:09:33 gvs XMM in cleanroom
10:10:11 black hole animation
10:10:32 Supernova animation
10:10:44 starfield animation
10:10:56 images from Rosat German X-Ray Observatory
10:11:01 supernova remnant G299.2-2.9
10:11:11 supernova remnants Cassiopeia A and Crab Nebula
10:11:21 Vela supernova remnant
10:11:30 title: Supernova remnant Crab Nebula
10:11:31 supernova remnant Crab Nebula
10:11:40 title: expansion cloud from Supernova 1987A
10:11:41 expansion cloud from Supernova 1987A
10:11:56 gvs exterior ESOC, Villafranca, Spain
10:12:41 gvs interior ESOC Operations
10:13:07 gvs exterior ESA headquarters, Paris
10:13:16 gvs ESA Science Director Roger Bonnet, in office, ESA, Paris
10:13:57 interviews with Bonn