Garnet (satellite)
| garnet | |
|---|---|
|
|
| Type: | Space telescope |
| Country: |
 Soviet Union
|
| COSPAR-ID : | 1989-096A |
| Mission dates | |
| Begin: | December 1, 1989, 20:20 UTC |
| Starting place: | Baikonur 200/40 |
| Launcher: | Proton -K / D-1 352-01 |
| Status: | burned up on May 25, 1999 |
| Orbit data | |
| Rotation time : | 5880 min |
| Orbit inclination : | 51.6 ° |
| Apogee height : | 200,000 km |
| Perigee height : | 2,000 km |
Granat ( Russian Гранат ) was a Soviet-Russian X-ray observatory , which was created as a joint effort between the Soviet Union and France . The 5-ton satellite was launched on December 1, 1989 by a Proton rocket from the Baikonur space airport into an eccentric 2,000 × 200,000 km high orbit with an inclination of 51.6 °. The orbital period was four days.
The satellite worked for almost ten years, between 1989 and 1998, spin stabilized since 1994. Activity ended on November 27, 1998. Granat had four main instruments. These were the X-ray telescope called Sigma from France , which worked in a range between 30 and 1000 keV, the Russian telescope Art-P , the monitoring device called Watch and the gamma ray detector Phebus .
Within four years, Granat examined many galaxies and receivable X-rays (e.g. GRS 1915 + 105 ) that lie outside our galaxy. After that it was used for further investigations of other objects. Granat also took unique images of our galaxy center, the Milky Way, and of promising candidates for black holes.
Web links
- NASA page about the Sigma Telescope (English)
- Garnet in the Encyclopedia Astronautica (English)
Individual evidence
- ↑ Granat in the NSSDCA Master Catalog , accessed May 9, 2012.
- ↑ NASA page on Granat (English)