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Observatories and Instruments

ROSAT

Space-Based Observatories

A German-led X-ray space telescope launched in 1990 with contributions from the United States and United Kingdom, which produced the first all-sky survey conducted in X-rays with an imaging telescope. Its catalog of over 100,000 X-ray sources became a foundational reference for X-ray astronomy before the mission ended in 1999.

Facts
Observatory Type
X-ray space telescope 1
Location
low Earth orbit at 580 km altitude, 53 degree inclination 1
Operational
from 1990 1
Measures
X-ray sources across the entire sky 1
Operating Principle
A grazing incidence, four-fold nested Wolter I telescope focuses X-rays that would pass through an ordinary mirror 1
Classification
Observing Band
X-ray 1
Connections

Operated By

DLR, Space Agencies and Companies
Source Wikipedia (space and spaceflight articles)
NASA, Space Agencies and Companies
Source Wikipedia (space and spaceflight articles)
Sources
1. Wikipedia: ROSAT
  • Lead section
    ROSAT (short for Rontgensatellit, in German X-rays are called Rontgenstrahlen, in honour of Wilhelm Rontgen) was a German Aerospace Center-led satellite X-ray telescope, with instruments built by West Germany, the United Kingdom and the United States.
  • Orbit section
    In 1990, the satellite was put in an orbit at an altitude of 580 km (360 mi) and inclination of 53°
  • Launch section
    It was launched on 1 June 1990, on a Delta II rocket from Cape Canaveral, Florida
  • Highlights section
    X-ray all-sky survey catalog, more than 150,000 objects.
  • Instrument section
    The X-ray mirror assembly was a grazing incidence four-fold nested Wolter I telescope with an 84 cm (33 in) diameter aperture and 240 cm (94 in) focal length
  • Lead section, second clause
    ROSAT (short for Rontgensatellit, in German X-rays are called Rontgenstrahlen, in honour of Wilhelm Rontgen) was a German Aerospace Center-led satellite X-ray telescope, with instruments built by West Germany, the United Kingdom and the United States.
  • In Group: X-ray and Gamma-Ray Space Observatories, Lead sentence
    ROSAT (short for Röntgensatellit; in German X-rays are called Röntgenstrahlen, in honour of Wilhelm Röntgen) was a German Aerospace Center-led satellite X-ray telescope, with instruments built by West Germany, the United Kingdom and the United States.
View the Source
Wikipedia (space and spaceflight articles)
Wikimedia Foundation
  • Operated By: DLR, ROSAT
    Operator: DLR / NASA
  • Operated By: NASA, ROSAT
    Operator: DLR / NASA
View the Source
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