Small Astronomy Satellite 2
SAS-2 | |
---|---|
Type: | Space telescope |
Country: | United States |
Operator: | NASA |
COSPAR-ID : | 1972-091A |
Mission dates | |
Dimensions: | 186 kg |
Size: | 59 cm in diameter, 135 cm in height |
Begin: | November 15, 1972 |
Starting place: | San Marco platform |
Launcher: | Scout-D1 |
Status: | burned up on August 20, 1980 |
Orbit data | |
Rotation time : | 95.4 min |
Orbit inclination : | 1.9 ° |
Apogee height : | 632 km |
Perigee height : | 443 km |
The Small Astronomy Satellite 2 (SAS-2) , a NASA project , was one of the first space telescopes to detect cosmic gamma rays .
SAS-2 (also known as SAS-B and Explorer 48 ) was launched into low equatorial earth orbit on November 15, 1972 by a Scout rocket from the San Marco platform . It began operations on November 19, 1972; the mission ended on June 8, 1973 due to a problem with the satellite's power supply.
The only instrument was a spark chamber for the energy range 20 MeV - 1 GeV. In 27 observations, each lasting about a week, 55% of the sky, including almost the entire plane of the Milky Way, were observed. SAS-2 thus gained an overview of individual gamma sources in the sky and of diffuse gamma emissions and their connection with other structures of the Milky Way. SAS-2 also discovered the Geminga spring .
Web links
- NASA: The Small Astronomy Satellite 2 (SAS-2) (English)
- Explorer: SAS B on Gunter's Space Page (English)
Individual evidence
- ↑ SAS-B in the NSSDCA Master Catalog (English)