The space shuttle program may be discontinued, but that isn’t stopping NASA from plowing ahead with other space exploration initiatives. Case in point is the launch of the space agency’s Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array (NuStar) high-energy X-ray telescope spacecraft.

The spacecraft’s mission is to get as close as possible to black holes and study them. Specifically, the NuStar will map radioactive material in supernovae remnants in an attempt to study the origins of cosmic rays and extreme physics surrounding collapsed stars.

The entire science community is eager to see the first high-resolution images that NuStar will take of the black holes, in addition to conducting a census.