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The Constellation-X Observatory is a combination of several X-ray telescopes working in unison to generate the observing power of one giant telescope. With the Observatory, scientists will investigate black holes, Einstein's Theory of General Relativity, galaxy formation, the evolution of the Universe on the largest scales, the recycling of matter and energy, and the nature of dark matter and dark energy.

Like all X-ray telescopes, Constellation-X must be positioned in space because X-ray light does not penetrate the Earth's atmosphere. Yet, in designing Constellation-X, scientists wanted an X-ray telescope similar to the large earth-bound telescopes to collect as much X-ray light as possible. These requirements led to the unique multi-telescope design of Constellation-X. The four telescopes will combine to provide a sensitivity 100 times greater than any past or current X-ray satellite mission. Essentially, scientists will be able to collect more data in an hour than they would have collected in days or weeks with current X-ray telescopes. The three separate instruments on board, the X-ray Microcalorimeter Spectrometer, X-ray Grating Spectrometer (XGS) and Hard X-ray Telescope (HXT) complement each other to bring broad X-ray bandpass coverage and high spectral resolving power to maximize the science output of the mission.

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