BeppoSAX

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BeppoSAX
BeppoSAX
Type: X-ray satellite
Country: ItalyItaly Italy / NetherlandsNetherlandsNetherlands 
Operator: ASI / NIVR
COSPAR-ID : 1996-027A
Mission dates
Begin: April 30, 1996, 04:31 UTC
Starting place: CCAFS LC-36B
Launcher: Atlas - Centaur
Status: burned up on April 29, 2003
Orbit data
Rotation time : 96.4 min
Orbit inclination : 3.9 °
Apogee height :  594 km
Perigee height :  575 km

BeppoSAX was an Italian / Dutch research satellite for astronomical observations with X-rays .

history

BeppoSAX was named after the Italian astronomer Giuseppe “Beppo” Occhialini and the Italian abbreviation for “satellite for X-ray astronomy ”. BeppoSAX was developed by the Italian space agency ASI and the Dutch aerospace agency NIVR and was brought into low earth orbit with an inclination of 3.9 ° on April 30, 1996 with an Atlas I rocket. The scientific mission ended with the shutdown on April 30, 2002. The 1.4 ton satellite crashed back to earth on April 29, 2003 over the Pacific Ocean.

BeppoSAX had five scientific instruments for X-rays in the energy range 0.1–300  keV .

BeppoSAX obtained X-ray spectra of many objects such as active galaxies and X-ray binary stars . The quick and precise positions of gamma-ray flashes obtained for the first time with BeppoSAX were of great importance . The targeted follow-up observations made possible by this showed the high redshift of these extremely high- energy events.

With the BeppoSax, it was possible to observe an afterglow in the X-ray range in 1997 with a gamma-ray flash ( Enrico Costa , Filippo Frontera ), followed shortly afterwards by observations in other locations in the optical range ( Jan van Paradijs ). The team (led by Ed van den Heuvel ), which with BeppoSax played a key role in clarifying the nature of gamma-ray flashes, received the Descartes Prize in 2002 .

See also

Web links