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| Credit : NASA Headquarters |
8). ROSAT : The Roentgen Satellite
The Roentgen Satellite, ROSAT, a Germany/US/UK collaboration, was launched on June 1, 1990 and operated for almost 9 years. The first 6 months of the mission were dedicated to the all sky-survey (using the Position Sensitive Proportional Counter detector), followed by the pointed phase. The survey obtained by ROSAT was the first X-ray and XUV all-sky survey using an imaging telescope with an X-ray sensitivity of about a factor of 1000 better than that of UHURU. During the pointed phase ROSAT made deep observations of a wide variety of objects.
During its mission, ROSAT made important contributions in gathering important data like X-ray all-sky survey catalog, more than 150000 objects XUV all-sky survey catalog (479 objects).
Detection of isolated neutron stars.Discovery of X-ray emission from comets. Observation of X-ray emission from the collision of Comet
Shoemaker-Levy with Jupiter.
9). SAMPEX
The Solar, Anomalous, and Magnetospheric Particle Explorer, or SAMPEX, was the first of NASA’s Small Explorer missions. SAMPEX was designed to study the characteristics of four types of charged particles that come from outside Earth’s magnetic environment: galactic cosmic rays, which are created by supernovas in the Milky Way; anomalous cosmic rays, which come from the interstellar medium surrounding the solar system; solar energetic particles, which come from the sun; and magnetospheric electrons, which are particles from the solar wind that become trapped in Earth’s magnetic system.
SAMPEX observations provided important new information abut the cosmic abundances of elements, the composition of the nearby interstellar medium, the structure and processes that drive the sun, and the process by which the solar wind injects energy into Earth’s upper atmosphere.
SAMPEX Studies the energy,composition, and charge states of particles from supernova explosions in the distant reaches of the galaxy, from the heart of solar flares, and from the depths of nearby interstellar space. It also monitors closely the magnetospheric particle populations which plunge occasionally into the middle atmosphere of the Earth, thereby ionizing neutral gases and altering the atmospheric chemistry. A key part of SAMPEX is to use the magnetic field of the earth as an essential component of the measurement strategy. The Earth’s field is used as a giant magnetic spectrometer to separate different energies and charge states of particles as SAMPEX executes its near polar orbit.
After many years of successful operation, the SAMPEX mission ended on June 30, 2004.
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Credit : NASA
Sampex Spacecraft |
10). The Extreme Ultraviolet Explorer (EUVE)
The Extreme Ultraviolet Explorer (EUVE) is a NASA-funded astronomy mission operating in the relatively unexplored extreme ultraviolet (70-760 Å) band. The science payload, which has been designed and built at the Space Sciences Laboratory at the University of California, Berkeley, under the direction of Dr. Roger F. Malina, consists of three grazing incidence scanning telescopes and an extreme ultraviolet (EUV) spectrometer/deep survey instrument. The science payload is attached to a Multi-Mission Modular spacecraft.
The EUVE mission, which launched on June 7, 1992 on a Delta II rocket from Cape Canaveral, is the culmination of nearly thirty years of effort at the University of California at Berkeley to create the field of EUV Astronomy. EUVE opens up this last unexplored spectral window in astrophysics.
The first six months of the mission were dedicated to mapping the EUV sky with the scanning telescopes. The mission is now in the Guest Observer phase.
The mission was carried out to gather important observation as stated below...
1). Carry out an all-sky, all-band survey in the extreme ultraviolet (70 -760 Å) in four bandpasses with an angular resolution of 6 x 6 arc minutes with ~ 500 seconds average exposure
2). Carry out a deep survey in the EUV in two bandpasses along the ecliptic
3). Carry out pointed spectroscopy observations identified by Guest Observers
4). Identify the emission physics of EUV sources and study of the ISM
5). Probe whether compelling science can be done with increased sensitivity.
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Image Credit :wikipedia.org
EUVE Mission |
11). SWIFT
NASA’s Swift mission is dedicated to studying the gamma-ray burst/black hole connection.
“Swift caps off a 30-year hunt to understand the nature of gamma-ray bursts, flashes of light that burn as brightly as a billion billion suns,” said Dr. Anne Kinney, Director of the Universe Division, NASA Headquarters, Washington. “Swift is fine-tuned to quickly loca
te these bursts and study them in several different wavelengths before they disappear forever. Swift is a little satellite with a big appetite,” she said.
Gamma-ray bursts are fleeting events, lasting only a few milliseconds to a few minutes, never to appear in the same spot again. They occur from our vantage point about once a day. Some bursts appear to be from massive star explosions that form black holes.
The Swift observatory comprises three telescopes, which work in tandem to provide rapid identification and multi-wavelength follow-up of GRBs and their afterglows. Within 20 to 75 seconds of a detected GRB, the observatory will rotate autonomously, so the onboard X-ray and optical telescopes can view the burst. The afterglows will be monitored over their durations, and the data will be rapidly released to the public.
The afterglow phenomenon follows the initial gamma-ray flash in most bursts. It can linger in X-ray light, optical light and radio waves for hours to weeks, providing great detail. The crucial link here, however, is having a precise location to direct other telescopes. Swift is the first satellite to provide this capability with both great precision and speed.
“We expect to detect and analyze over 100 gamma-ray bursts a year,” said Dr. Neil Gehrels, Swift’s Principal Investigator at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC) in Greenbelt, Md. “Swift will lead to a windfall of discovery on these most powerful explosions in the universe.”
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Credit : NASA
Swift mission overview. Representation of a Gamma Ray BBurst
12). Suzaku ( originally... Astro-E2 )
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Astro-E2 was successfully launched on 12:30 pm JST on July 10, 2005 from the Uchinoura Space Center (USC) in Japan. Soon after launch, the mission was renamed Suzaku.
Suzaku is the re-build of Astro-E, which was unfortunately lost during launch (10 February 2000). Suzaku (as Astro-E) has been developed at the Japanese Institute of Space and Astronautical Science (ISAS) in collaboration with the US. This is Japan's fifth X-ray astronomy mission. Suzaku is the first satellite that carries a new type of X-ray spectrometer, the X-ray micro-calorimeter, which provides unprecedented energy resolution compared to non-dispersive instruments.
Suzaku is Japan's fifth X-ray astronomy mission, and was developed at the Institute of Space and Astronautical Science of Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (ISAS/JAXA) in collaboration with U.S. (NASA/GSFC, MIT) and Japanese institutions. Suzaku covers the energy range 0.2 - 600 keV and its operational scientific payload includes two co-aligned instruments. The X-ray Imaging Spectrometer (XIS) consists of four imaging CCD cameras (three working) sensitive in the 0.2-12.0 keV band, each located at the focal plane of a dedicated X-ray telescope (XRT). The second is a non-imaging, collimated Hard X-ray Detector (HXD) sensitive in the 10-600 keV band. Suzaku also carries a third instrument, an X-ray micro-calorimeter (X-ray Spectrometer; XRS), but the XRS lost all of its cryogen before routine scientific observations could begin.
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Suzaku Satellite before vibrations testin
gimagege Credit : heasarc.gsfc.nasa.gov |
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The Ares V was THE MISSION incorporated by NASA to launch the Earth Departure Stage and Altair lunar lander for NASA's return to the Moon after its Apollo programme, which was planned for 2019. If successful, it would also have served as the principal launcher for missions beyond the Earth-Moon system, including the program's ultimate goal, a manned mission to the red star,] Mars. However, the Constellation program, including Ares V and Ares I was canceled in October 2010 by the NASA Authorization Act of 2010.
IF NOT CANCELLED, ARES V WOULD HAVE BEEN THE BIGGEST & MOST POWERFUL ROCKET TO BE LAUNCHED.
Note : All the information published above is for knowledge purpose only.
All the Credit for providing the information goes to NASA and its collaborators.
References : SAMPEX MISSION : lasp.colorado.edu
Suzaku and ROSAT Mission : heasarc.gsfc.nasa.gov
EUVE Mission : www.ssl.berkeley.edu
Swift Mission : nasa.gov
Comments
EUVE was so awesome,.