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The great success of the Rossi X-Ray Timing Explorer (RXTE) has shown that X-ray timing is an excellent tool for the study of strong gravitational fields and the measurement of fundamental physical properties of black holes and neutron stars. Here, we describe a next-generation X-ray timing mission, the Relativistic Astrophysics Explorer (RAE), designed to fit within the envelope of a medium-sized mission. The instruments will be a narrow-field X-ray detector array with an area of 6 m2 equal to 10 times that of RXTE and a wide-field X-ray monitor. We describe the science made possible with this mission, the design of the instruments, and results on prototype large-area X-ray detectors. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

We have discovered large-scale moving X-ray and radio jets from the microquasar XTE J1550−564. Using X-ray and radio observations performed between 2000 and 2002, we showed that plasma ejected from XTE J1550−564 has been able to travel at relativistic velocities during many years, with evidence for gradual deceleration. The broadband spectrum of the jets is consistent with synchrotron emission from high energy particles accelerated in shocks. Full details can be found in Corbel et al. [Science 298 (2002a) 196], Karret et al. [ApJ 582 (2003) 933] and Tomsick et al. [ApJ (2003) 945]. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]