Al-Farghani, Alfraganus, Amateur Astronomer, Amateurs, Anders Angstrom, Arecibo Observatory, Asteroid Belt, Asteroid,
Astronomical, Astronomy, Atacama, Bernhard Schmidt, Big Horn Medicine Wheel, Black Hole, Bolide, Brian Timmins,
Brians Timelines, brianstimelines, CADC, Cahokia Mounds, Caltech, June 2000, Cambridge University,
Canadian Astronomy Data Centre, Carl Sagan, Carl Seyfert, Cerro Tololo Interamerican Observatory, Chaco Canyon,
Chandra Chankillo, Charles Messier, Chichen Itza, Chris Lintott, Christiaan Huygens, Chronological Facts, Chronological,
Chronology, Clyde Tombaugh, Comet, Copernicus, CTIO, DAO, Dark Matter, Dominion Astrophysical Observatory,
Dominion Radio Astrophysical Observatory, DRAO, Dwarf Planet, Earth, Edmond Halley, Edwin Hubble, Einstein, Ejnar Hertzsprung,
ESA, ESIS, ESO, European Southern Observatory, European Space Information System, Events, Fajata Butte, Fred Hoyle, Fritz Zwicky,
Galactic, Galaxy, Galileo Galilei, Galileo, Gemini, George Hale, Gerard Kuiper, Giovanni Cassini, GLAST, Goseck Circle,
Gravity Lens, Gravity Lensing, Gravity, Halley, Historical Event, History, HST Astrometry Science Team, Hubble,
Hypernova, Institute Of Astronomy And Royal Greenwich Observatory, Isaac Newton, James Van Allen, James Webb,
Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Johannes Kepler, Joseph Von Fraunhofer, Joseph-Louis Lagrange, JPL, Jupiter, Karl Schwarzchild,
Keplers Laws, Kitt Peak National Observatory, KPNO, Kuiper Belt, Las Campanas And Magellan, Las Campanas Observatory,
Light Year, Machu Picchu, Magellan Project, Mars, Mauna Kea, Mcdonald Observatory, Mercury, Meteor, Meteorite,
Meteoroid, Milky Way, MIT, Moon, Mount Stromlo And Siding Springs Observatories, Mount Wilson Observatory, MSO & SSO,
NASA, National Aeronautics And Space Administration, National Astronomy And Ionosphere Center,
National Observatory Of Japan, National Optical Astronomy Observatories, National Radio Astronomy Observatory,
National Solar Observatory, Nebula, Nebulae, Neptune, Neutron Star, Newgrange, Newton, Nicolaus Copernicus, Night Sky, NOAO,
Nova, NRAO, NSO, Observation, Observatories Of The Carnegie Institution Of Washington, Observatory, Oort Cloud, Parsec,
Patrick Moore, Planets, Pluto, Ptolemaiac, Ptolemaic, Ptolemy, Pulsar, Quark Star, Quasar, Royal Greenwich Observatory,
Sacramento Peak, SAO, Saturn, Search For Extra Terrestrial Intelligence, SETI, Sir Fred Hoyle, Sir Isaac Newton, Sir Patrick Moore,
Site, Sky At Night, Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory, SOHO, Solar System, Space Telescope Electronic Information System,
Space Telescope Science Institute, Space, Spitzer, Stars, STEIS, Stephen Hawking, Stonehenge, STSCI, Subaru,
Subramanyan Chandrasekhar, Sunspot, Supernova, Gemini 8M Telescopes Project, Miami Circle, Temple At Karnak,
Very Large Telescope Project, Theory Of Relativity, Time Line, Time Scale, Time, Time-Lines, Timeline, Timelines, Timescale,
Timmins, Tycho Brahe, U.Mass Amherst, UKIRT, United Kingdom Infra-Red Telescope, University Of Massachusetts Astronomy,
University Of Texas Department Of Astronomy, Uranus, Ut-Austin, Venus, Virtual Observatory Conference, VLT,
Wallace Astrophysical Observatory, William Herschel, Woodhenge,
Lunar Distance, Astronomical Unit, Light Year, Parsec, Newton's Laws Of Motion, Solar Mass, Event Horizon,
Keplers Three Laws Of Planetary Motion, The Law Of Orbits, The Law Of Areas, The Law Of Harmonics, Singularity,
Newton's Law Of Gravitation, Hubble Constant, The Roche Limit, Schwarzchild Radius, Universal Gravitational Constant "G",
Abberation, Absorption Lines, Albedo, Aphelion, Apogee, Apparent Motion, Asteroid Belt, Azimuth And Elevation, Balmer Series,
Black Body Radiation, Black Hole, Bradley's Aberration, Chromosphere, Cherenkov Radiation, Comet, Corona, Coronal Hole,
Coronal Mass Ejection, CME, Declination, Eccentricity, Ecliptic, Epicycle, Equatorial Axis, Hohmann Orbit, Hydrogen Spectrum,
Klemperer Rosette, Kuiper Belt, Lagrangian Points, Libration, Luminance, Luminosity, Mach's Formulation, Mean Anomaly, Multiplet,
Neutron Star, Nodal, Nodal Month, Nutation, Nutation Cycle, Oblateness, Obliquity, Oort Cloud, Orbit, Orbital Elements,
Orbital Inclination, Orbital Motion Anomaly, Orbital Period, Parallax, Perhelion, Perigee, Perturbation, PHA,
Photosphere, Plane Of The Ecliptic, Precession, Precession Cycle, Primary, Primordial Microwaves, Prominence,
Retrograde Motion, Right Ascension And Declination, Semimajor, Sidereal Day, Sidereal Month, Sidereal Time, Sodium Spectrum,
Solar Activity, Solar Cycle, Solar Energetic Particles, Solar Flare, Solar Wind, Spectral Line, Stellar Evolution, Supernova,
Synodic, Synodic Period, Synodic Month, Transit, True Anomaly, Urca Process, Van Allen Radiation Belt, Zeeman Effect,
Achromatic Refractor, Apochromatic Refractor, Newtonian Reflector, Schmidt-Cassegrain, Maksutov-Cassegrain,
Schmidt-Newtonian, Maksutov-Newtonian, Dobsonian, Ritchey-Chretien, Adaptive And Multi Mirror Optics,
Huygenian Eyepiece, Ramsden Eyepiece, Kellner Eyepiece, Orthoscopic Eyepiece, Plossl Eyepiece, Wide Field Eyepieces,
Erfle Eyepiece, Konig Eyepiece, Nagler Eyepiece
Chronological Launch List For
|
Launching Authorities or Sponsors | ||
| ASI: | Agenzia Spaziale Italiana | ||
| BNSC: | British National Space Centre | ||
| CNES: | French National Centre for the Study of Space | ||
| CNSA: | China National Space Agency | ||
| ESA: | European Space Agency | ||
| INTA: | Instituto Nacional de Tecnica Aerospacial | ||
| ISAS: | Institute of Space and Astronautical Science - Japan | ||
| ISRO: | Indian Space Research Organisation | ||
| NASA: | National Aeronautics and Space Administration - USA | ||
| NIVR: | Netherlands Agency for Aerospace Programmes | ||
| STFC: | Science and Technologies Facilities Council (ex SRC, ex PPARC) - UK | ||
| RSRI: | Russian Space Research Institute | ||
| Logistics | Mission & Instrumentation | Comments | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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Launch Date: 26 April 1962 Launch Name: UK1 Renamed: Ariel 1 Vehicle: Thor-Delta Site: Cape Canaveral Authority: STFC(ex SRC) Useful Life: 2.5 years |
Mass: 60 kg Perigee: 398 km Apogee: 1,203 km Inclination: 53.80° Period: 100.80' |
Research and exploration of the upper atmosphere and outer space by investigating Solar UV, X-Rays and Primary Cosmic Rays | The honor of the first astronomical satellite project goes to the United Kingdom. Functional life was only just over one year as it was turned off in the middle of its life for about 1.5 years | |
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Launch Date: 27 March 1964 Launch Name: UK2 Renamed: Ariel 2 Vehicle: Scout X-3 Site: Wallops Island Authority: STFC(ex SRC) Useful Life:  |
Mass: 68 kg Perigee: 287 km Apogee: 1,349 km Inclination: 51.70° Period: 101.30' |
3 experiments to measure galactic radio noise | ||
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Launch Date: 8 April 1966 Launch Name: OAO-1 Vehicle: Atlas-Agena D Site: Cape Canaveral Authority: NASA Useful Life: 3 days |
Mass: 1769 kg Perigee: 788 km Apogee: 800 km Inclination: 35° Period: 100.8' |
Precision astronomical observations and to measure the absorption and emission characteristics of the stars, planets, nebulae, and the interplanetary and interstellar media from visible to gamma-ray regions | ;){kind=small}
Battery failure terminated mission
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Launch Date: 5 May 1967 Launch Name: UK3 Renamed: Ariel 3 Vehicle: Scout A (S155C) Site: Vandenberg Authority: STFC(ex SRC) Useful Life: ∼2 years |
Mass: 90 kg Perigee: 499 km Apogee: 604 km Inclination: 80.60° Period: 95.60' |
Research and exploration of the upper atmosphere and outer space by investigating Solar UV, X-Rays and Primary Cosmic Rays | ;) |
|
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Launch Date: 7 December 1968 Launch Name: OAO-2 Vehicle: Atlas-Centaur Site: Cape Canaveral Authority: NASA Useful Life: |
Mass: 2150 kg Perigee: 759 km Apogee: 767 km Inclination: 35° Period: 100.1' |
UV Astronomy
|
;)
It detected a supernova in May 1972, as well as the first UV radiation from the center of the Andromeda Galaxy M31
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Launch Date: 4 July 1968 Launch Name: Explorer 38 Renamed: RAE-1 Vehicle: Delta Site: Vandenberg Authority: NASA Useful Life: |
Mass: 190 kg Perigee: 5851 km Apogee: 5861 km Inclination: 120.6° Period: 224.4' |
Radio Astronomy
|
;)
RAE-1 was part of the explorer series (Explorer 38) and was put in Earth orbit and deployed four 230-meter (755 ft) antennae;
it discovered that Earth emits radio waves similar to Jupiter. Though designed for a year's work it started to deteriorate after 2 months
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The 1970s | ||||
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Launch Date: 30 November 1970 Launch Name: OAO-B Vehicle: Atlas-Centaur Site: Cape Canaveral Authority: NASA |
Mass: 2122.8 kg | Failed to achieve earth orbit and crashed into the Atlantic | ||
|
Launch Date: 12 December 1970 Launch Name: SAS-A Renamed: Uhuru Vehicle: Scout Site: San Marco Authority: NASA Useful Life: |
Mass: 141.5 kg Perigee: 531 km Apogee: 572 km Inclination: 3° Period: 95.7' |
The primary mission of Uhuru was to develop a catalog of celestial X-ray sources by systematic scanning of the celestial sphere in the energy range from 2 to 20 keV | ;)
aka Small Astronomy Satellite 1, aka Explorer 42
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Launch Date: 11 December 1971 Launch Name: UK4 Renamed: Ariel 4 Vehicle: Scout B-1 (S183C) Site: Vandenberg Authority: STFC Useful Life: |
Mass: 100 kg Perigee: 476 km Apogee: 592 km Inclination: 82.00° Period: 95.30' |
;) |
||
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Launch Date: 12 March 1972 Launch Name: TD-1A Vehicle: Thor-Delta Site: Vandenberg Authority: ESA Useful Life: |
Mass: 472 kg Perigee: 536 km Apogee: 557 km Inclination: 97.5° Period: 95.6' |
Systematic sky survey in the ultraviolet and high-energy regions of the spectrum by measuring UV, X and gamma rays, plus heavy nuclei | ;){kind=small}
The scientific output of these experiments suffered severely due to the electromagnetic interference from ground-based radar systems hampering the pointing operations
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Launch Date: 21 August 1972 Launch Name: OAO-3 Renamed: Copernicus Vehicle: Atlas-Centaur Site: Cape Canaveral Authority: NASA Useful Life: 9.5 yrs |
Mass: 2150 kg Perigee: 739 km Apogee: 751 km Inclination: 35° Period: 99.7' |
UV and Cosmic X-ray astronomy
|
;)
The main experiment was an ultraviolet telescope. However, it also contained a cosmic X-ray experiment provided by University
College London/MSSL. The main body of Copernicus measured 3 x 2 meters. The solar pannels were fixed at an angle of 34 degrees
to the observing axis, and were kept within 30 degrees of the Sun. This restriction resulted in certain parts of the sky being
visible only at certain parts of the year
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Launch Date: 15 November 1972 Launch Name: SAS-B Vehicle: Scout Site: San Marco Authority: NASA Useful Life: 7 months |
Mass: 166 kg Perigee: 443 km Apogee: 632 km Inclination: 1.9° Period: 95.4' |
Objective was to measure the spatial and energy distribution of primary galactic and extragalactic gamma radiation
with energies between 20 and 300 MeV
|
;){kind=small}
aka Small Astronomy Satellite 2, aka Explorer 48
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Launch Date: 10 June 1973 Launch Name: Explorer 49 Renamed: RAE-2 Vehicle: Delta Site: Cape Canaveral Authority: NASA Useful Life: 1 year |
Mass: 328 kg Perigee: 1052.98 km Apogee: 1063.84 km Inclination: 55.7° Period: 221.17' |
Radio Astronomy
|
;){kind=small}
RAE-2 was part of the explorer series (Explorer 49) and was was put into Lunar orbit, and investigated solar and galactic radio
radiation, using the Moon to "shield" Earth with its radio noise
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Launch Date: 30 August 1974 Launch Name: ANS-1 Vehicle: Scout Site: Vandenberg Authority: NIVR/NASA Useful Life: ∼3 years |
Mass: 129.8 kg Perigee: 266 km Apogee: 1176 km Inclination: 98° Period: 99.2' |
Stellar UV and Soft plus Hard X-ray investigations
|
;){kind=small}
This was a collaborative effort between the Netherlands (NIVR) and USA (NASA)
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Launch Date: 15 October 1974 Launch Name: UK5 Renamed: Ariel 5 Vehicle: Scout B-1 (S187C) Site: San Marco Authority: STFC Useful Life: 5.5 years |
Mass: 129 kg Perigee: 504 km Apogee: 549 km Inclination: 2.90° Period: 94.90' |
X-ray observatory, Cosmic X-ray astronomy
|
;){kind=small}
The mission was a British-USA collaboration. The Science Research Council managed the project for the UK and GSFC/NASA for the USA
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Launch Date: 19 April 1975 Launch Name: Aryabhata Vehicle: SL-7 Kosmos Site: Kapustin Yar Authority: ISRO Useful Life:4 days |
Mass: kg Perigee: 563 km Apogee: 619 km Inclination: 50.7° Period: 96.3' |
The main objectives of the mission were to evolve the methodology of conducting a series of complex operations on the satellite in its orbital phase; to set up ground-based receiving, transmitting and tracking systems and to establish infrastructure for the fabrication of spacecraft systems. The actual experiments were one each in X-Ray Astronomy, Solar Physics and Aeronomy | ;){kind=small}
India's foray as a space power was initiated with the launch of the Aryabhatta artificial satellite. The objectives of this project was to indigenously design and fabricate a space-worthy satellite system and evaluate its perfromance in orbit
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Launch Date: 7 May 1975 Launch Name: SAS-C Vehicle: Scout Site: San Marco Authority: NASA Useful Life: |
Mass: 196.7 kg Perigee: 509 km Apogee: 516 km Inclination: 3° Period: 94.9' |
Missions were to measure the X-ray emission of discrete extragalactic sources, to monitor the intensity and spectra of galactic X-ray sources from 0.2 to 60 keV, and to monitor the X-ray intensity of Scorpio X-1 | ;)
aka Small Astronomy Satellite 3, aka Explorer 53
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Launch Date: 9 August 1975 Launch Name: COS-B Vehicle: Delta Site: Vandenberg Authority: ESA Useful Life: ∼7 years |
Mass: 277.5 kg Perigee: 339.6 km Apogee: 99876 km Inclination: 90.13° Period: 2227' |
Gamma Ray Atronomy | ;)
Scientific results included the 2CG Catalogue listing around 25 gamma ray sources and a map of the Milky Way. The satellite also observed the Cygnus X-3 pulsar
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Launch Date: 12 August 1977 Launch Name: HEAO-1 Vehicle: Atlas-Centaur Site: Cape Canaveral Authority: NASA Useful Life: 1.5 years |
Mass: 2551.9 kg Perigee: 432 km Apogee: 432 km Inclination: 23° Period: 93.5' |
X-ray and Gamma ray observatory, specifically designed to map and survey the size location and variability of
X-ray and gamma-ray sources in the energy range of 150 eV to 10 MeV
|
;){kind=small}
aka High-Energy Astronomical Observatory-A
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Launch Date: 26 January 1978 Launch Name: IUE Vehicle: Thor-Delta Site: Cape Kennedy Authority: ESA/NASA/STFC Useful Life: 18 years |
Mass: 669 kg Perigee: 32,050 km Apogee: 52,254 km Inclination: 28.6° Period: 23.927 h |
Analysis of ultraviolet light from the stars, which is blocked by the Earth's ozone layer
|
;)
aka International Ultraviolet Explorer. A collaborative project among NASA, ESA and the British SRC (now STFC) agencies.
After an incredibly successful life it was shut down and destroyed from healthy state on 30 September 1996 due to loss of funding
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Launch Date: 13 November 1978 Launch Name: HEAO-2 Renamed: Einstein Vehicle: Atlas-Centaur Site: Cape Canaveral Authority: NASA Useful Life: 2.5 years |
Mass: 3130 kg Perigee: 465 km Apogee: 476 km Inclination: 23.5° Period: 94' |
X-ray and Gamma ray observatory
|
;){kind=small}
aka High-Energy Astronomical Observatory-B and Renamed "Einstein", it was the first fully imaging X-ray telescope put into space
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Launch Date: 21 February 1979 Launch Name: CORSA-b Renamed: Hakucho Vehicle: M-3C-4 Site: Kagoshima Authority: ISAS Useful Life: ∼6 years |
Mass: 96 kg Perigee: 421 km Apogee: 433 km Inclination: 29.9° Period: 93.1' |
Cosmic Radiation/X-ray satellite
|
;)
The HAKUCHO discovered eight cosmic X-ray burst sources
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Launch Date: 24 February 1979 Launch Name: STP P78-1 Vehicle: Atlas Site: Vandenberg Authority: US DoD Useful Life: 6.5years |
Mass: 849.6 kg Perigee: 560 km Apogee: 600 km Inclination: 97.9° Period: 96.3' |
|
;)
aka Solwind, Produced results for 6.5 years until it was shot down as part of the Strategic Defence Initiative
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Launch Date: 2 June 1979 Launch Name: UK6 Renamed: Ariel 6 Vehicle: Scout D-1 (S198C) Site: Wallops Island Authority: STFC Useful Life: 3 years |
Mass: 154 kg Perigee: 372 km Apogee: 383 km Inclination: 55.00° Period: 92.10' |
Detection of heavy cosmic particles and X-ray astronomy
|
;){kind=small}
The scientific output of these experiments suffered severely due to the electromagnetic interference from ground-based radar systems hampering the pointing operations
|
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Launch Date: 7 June 1979 Launch Name: Bhaskara-I Vehicle: SS-5 Site: Kapustin Yar Authority: ISRO Useful Life: ∼2 years |
Mass: 444 kg Perigee: 619 km Apogee: 562 km Inclination: 50.7° Period: 95.2' |
Primarily an Earth observing satellite, it carried an All-Sky monitor similar to Ariel-V |
;){kind=small}
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Launch Date: 20 September 1979 Launch Name: HEAO-3 Vehicle: Atlas-Centaur Site: Cape Canaveral Authority: NASA Useful Life: 1.5 years |
Mass: 2660 kg Perigee: 486.4 km Apogee: 504.9 km Inclination: 43.6° Period: 94.5' |
X-ray and Gamma ray observatory
|
;)
aka High-Energy Astronomical Observatory-C
|
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The 1980s | ||||
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Launch Date: 20 February 1980 Launch Name: Astro B Renamed: Tenma Vehicle: M-3S-3 Site: Uchinoura Authority: ISAS Useful Life: ∼3.5 years |
Mass: 216 kg Perigee: 489 km Apogee: 503 km Inclination: 31.5° Period: 94.5' |
X-ray satellite
|
;){kind=small}
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Launch Date: 26 January 1983 Launch Name: IRAS Vehicle: Delta 3910 Site: Vandenberg Authority: NASA/NIVR/STFC Useful Life: 11months |
Mass: 1075.9 kg Perigee: 889 km Apogee: 903 km Inclination: 99.1° Period: 103' |
Infra-Red Astronomy
|
;)
It conducted an all-sky survey at wavelengths ranging from 8 to 120 microns in four broadband photometric channels centered at 12, 25, 60, and 100 microns |
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Launch Date: 23 March 1983 Launch Name: Astron-1 Vehicle: Proton D1e Site: Baikonur Authority: RSRI Useful Life: ∼6 years |
Mass: 3250 kg Perigee: 2,000 km Apogee: 200,000 km Inclination: 51.5° Period: 5880' |
Designed primarily for UV and X-ray astrophysical observations
|
;){kind=small}
NASA  |
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Launch Date: 26 May 1983 Launch Name: Exosat Vehicle: Delta Site: Vandenberg Authority: ESA Useful Life: 3 years |
Mass: 500 kg Perigee: 347 km Apogee: 191709 km Inclination: 72.5° Period: 5435.4' |
X-ray Observatory Satellite
|
;)
During its life, EXOSAT made 1780 observations of a wide variety of objects, including active galactic nuclei, stellar coronae,
cataclysmic variables, white dwarfs, X-ray binaries, clusters of galaxies, and supernova remnants
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Launch Date: 5 February 1987 Launch Name: Astro-C Renamed: Ginga Vehicle: M-3SII-3 Site: Kagoshima Authority: ISAS Useful Life: 4.5 years |
Mass: 400 kg Perigee: 517 km Apogee: 708 km Inclination: 31.1° Period: 97' |
X-ray observatory
|
;)
Ginga was a joint Japanese/UK mission. Ginga made approximately 1000 observations, covering all classes of cosmic X-ray sources then known.
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Launch Date: 8 August 1989 Launch Name: Hipparcos Vehicle: Ariane 44LP Site: Kourou Authority: ESA Useful Life: 4 years |
Mass: 1025 kg Perigee: 223 km Apogee: 35,632 km Inclination: 6.8° Period: 628.9' |
Astrometrical satellite for measuring high precision parallaxes
|
;)
Although launched successfully, the spacecraft didn't achieve its designed high orbit. Nevertheless, it was
highly successful and measured 118,000 star positions at 0.001 arc seconds acuracy, plus some 1,050,000 positions
at 0.025 arc seconds, in two color band ("B" and "V"), so that also over 1 million color indices were obtained
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Launch Date: 18 November 1989 Launch Name: COBE Vehicle: Delta Site: Vandenberg Authority: NASA Useful Life: 4 years |
Mass: 2206 kg Perigee: 900 km Apogee: 900 km Inclination: 99° Period: 103' |
COBE measured the cosmological microwave background radiation
|
;){kind=small}
COsmic Background Explorer was developed by NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center to measure the diffuse infrared and microwave radiation
from the early universe to the limits set by our astrophysical environment
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Launch Date: 1 December 1989 Launch Name: ASTRON-2 Renamed: GRANAT Vehicle: Proton D-1-e Site: Tyuratam Authority: RSRI Useful Life: 9 years |
Mass: 900 kg Perigee: 2,000 km Apogee: 200,000 km Inclination: 51.6° Period: 5880' |
X-ray, Gamma-ray observatory
|
;){kind=small}
The astrophysics payload was developed in cooperation with France, Bulgaria and Denmark
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The 1990s | ||||
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Launch Date: 5 April 1990 Launch Name: CGRO Vehicle: Shuttle Atlantis Site: Canaveral Authority: NASA Useful Life: 10 years |
Mass: 16,329 kg Perigee: 362 km Apogee: 457 km Inclination: 28.5° Period: 90' |
Compton Gamma Ray Observatory
|
;){kind=small}
One of NASA's four Great Observatories, the others being Hubble, Spitzer and Chandra
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Launch Date: 24 April 1990 Launch Name: LST Renamed: HST Vehicle: Shuttle Discovery Site: Cape Canaveral Authority: NASA/ESA Useful Life: 22? years |
Mass: 10,863 kg Perigee: 588 km Apogee: 594 km Inclination: 28.4° Period: 96.5' |
Optical astronomical observatory
|
;)
The Hubble Space Telescope to date is the largest (2.4m) telescope ever launched to orbit. Improperly designed optics required
a refurbishment Shuttle mission (Endeavour) to get it working properly since when it has delivered amazing results. Service missions
were flown in February 1997 and March 2001. A final service is due in April 2008
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Launch Date: 1 June 1990 Launch Name: ROSAT Vehicle: Delta II Site: Cape Canaveral Authority: NASA/STFC/BFT Useful Life: ∼9 years |
Mass: 2421.1 kg Perigee: 580 km Apogee: 580 km Inclination: 53° Period: 96' |
A joint German, US and UK X-ray astrophysics project
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;)
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Launch Date: 11 July 1990 Launch Name: GAMMA Vehicle: Soyuz SL-4 Site: Baikonur Authority: RSRI/CNES Useful Life: |
Mass: 7,000 kg Perigee: 190 km Apogee: 233 km Inclination: 51.6° Period: 88.45' |
X-ray and Gamma-ray astronomy
|
;)
Unfortunately the satellite's research in the field of high-energy astrophysics, conducted jointly with France
and Poland, did not produce many noteworthy results due to a combination of logistical and technical problems
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Launch Date: 17 July 1991 Launch Name: SARA Vehicle: Ariane 40 Site: Kourou Authority: ESIEESPACE Useful Life: ∼11? years |
Mass: 37 kg Perigee: 780? km Apogee: 780? km Inclination: ?° Period: ?' |
Radio astronomy satellite specifically designed to survey radioelectric emissions from Jupiter |
;)
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Launch Date: 2 June 1992 Launch Name: EUVE Vehicle: Delta II Site: Cape Canaveral Authority: NASA Useful Life: ∼9 years |
Mass: 3,275 kg Perigee: 515 km Apogee: 527 km Inclination: 28.4° Period: 94.8' |
Extreme UV observatory
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;){kind=small}
The Extreme-Ultraviolet Explorer (EUVE) was a spinning spacecraft designed to rotate about the earth/sun line
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Launch Date: 31 July 1992 Launch Name: EURECA Vehicle: Shuttle Site: Cape Canaveral Authority: ESA Useful Life: 11 months |
Mass: 4,491 kg Perigee: 438 km Apogee: 447 km Inclination: 28.5° Period: 93.4' |
WATCH - The cosmic Hard X-ray observatory
|
;){kind=small}
The EUropean REtrievable CArrier was deployed into space by Shuttle Atlantis and brought back by Endeavour on July 1, 1993
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Launch Date: 20 February 1993 Launch Name: Astro-D Renamed: ASCA Vehicle: M-3SII-7 Site: Uchinoura Authority: ISAS Useful Life: ∼8 years |
Mass: 417 kg Perigee: 523.6 km Apogee: 615.3 km Inclination: 31.1° Period: 96.09' |
Advanced Satellite for Cosmology and Astrophysics
|
;){kind=small}
Capable of space based X-ray spectrum observations at the highest energy resolution the following objectives were set.
An explanation of chemical evolution in the universe. Verification of black holes.
Identification of the sites of particle-acceleration in space. Determination of the distribution of dark matter and its total mass
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Launch Date: 25 April 1993 Launch Name: Alexis Vehicle: Pegasus Site: Edwards Authority: DoE/LANL Useful Life: ∼5 years |
Mass: 113 kg Perigee: 749 km Apogee: 844 km Inclination: 70° Period: ?' |
Array of Low Energy X-ray Imaging Sensors |
;){kind=small}
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Launch Date: 1 November 1994 Launch Name: Wind Vehicle: Delta II 7925 Site: Cape Canaveral Authority: NASA Useful Life: Stil running? |
Mass: 1250 kg Halo orbit at L1 At earth L1 |
Transient Gamma Ray Spectrometer
|
;)
The main scientific goal of the mission is to measure the mass, momentum and energy of the solar wind
that somehow is transferred into the space environment around the Earth. At first, the satellite had a
lunar swingby orbit around the Earth. Later in the mission,
the Wind spacecraft was inserted into a special "halo" orbit in the solar wind upstream from the Earth,
about the sunward Sun-Earth Lagrange point (L1).
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Launch Date: 18 March 1995 Launch Name: SFU Vehicle: H-2 Site: Tanegashima Authority: ISAS Useful Life: ∼1 year |
Mass: 4000 kg Perigee: 344 km Apogee: 415 km Inclination: 28.4° Period: 92.2' |
Infrared Telescope (IRTS)
|
;){kind=small}
SFU was a Japanese space laboratory launched by the same H-2 rocket that launched GMS 5.
It was retrieved by the Space Shuttle STS 72 on January 13, 1996.
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Launch Date: 17 November 1995 Launch Name: ISO Vehicle: Ariane 2 Site: Kourou Authority: ESA Useful Life: ∼ 2.5years |
Mass: 1800 kg Perigee: 1000km Apogee: 70500km Inclination: 5.25° Period: 1440' |
60cm Ritchey-Chrétien telescope
|
;){kind=small}
When it was launched in 1995, ISO was the most sensitive infrared satellite ever sent into space.
It taught us a huge amount about parts of the Universe that we couldn't even see previously.
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Launch Date: 30 December 1995 Launch Name: RXTE Vehicle: Delta II Site: Authority: NASA Useful Life: Still Truckin' (As at mid-1997) |
Mass: 3000+ kg Perigee: 600 km Apogee: ? km Inclination: 23° Period: ?' |
Rossi X-ray Timing Explorer
|
;)
This satellite probes the physics of cosmic X-ray sources by making sensitive measurements
of their variability over time scales ranging from milliseconds to years.
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Launch Date: 30 April 1996 Launch Name: SAX Renamed: Beppo-SAX Vehicle: Atlas-Centaur Site: Cape Canaveral Authority: ASI Useful Life: 7 years |
Mass: 900 kg Perigee: 575 km Apogee: 594 km Inclination: 4° Period: 96.4' |
Italian X-Ray Astronomy Satellite
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;)
The objective of the mission was to perform spectroscopic and time variability studies of celestial X-ray
sources in the energy band from 1 to 200 keV
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Launch Date: 2 December 1997 Launch Name: Muses-B Renamed: Haruka Vehicle: M-5 Site: Uchinoura Authority: ISAS Useful Life: 3-5 years |
Mass: 830 kg Perigee: 560 km Apogee: 21400 km Inclination: 31.3° Period: 380' |
Japanese Radio Astronomy Satellite
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Along with ground based radio telescopes it will make radio images with very high spatial resolution (the highest yet in
very-long baseline interferometry) and permit precise measurements of quasar jets and galactic maser sources.
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Launch Date: 21 April 1997 Launch Name: Minisat 1 Vehicle: Pegasus XL Site: Canary Islands Authority: INTA (Spain) |
Mass: 200 kg Perigee: 562 km Apogee: 581 km Inclination: 150.9° Period: 96.1' |
Extreme UV telescope for astrophysical studies | No Image | |
The 2000s | ||||
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Satellite Info in HandLast update: 31 March 2008
Planned Future Missions
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Owner & Webmaster:
Brian Timmins