Astron (spacecraft)

Astron was a Soviet space telescope launched on 23 March 1983 at 12:45:06 UTC, using the Proton-K rocket.^[5] Based on the 4MV spacecraft design and operational for six years, Astron was the largest ultraviolet space telescope of its time.

Astron

Diagram of the Astron observatory
Mission type	Astrophysics
Operator	Soviet space program CNES
COSPAR ID	1983-020A
SATCAT no.	13901
Mission duration	8 years
Spacecraft properties
Bus	4MV[1]
Manufacturer	NPO Lavochkin
Launch mass	3,250 kg (7,170 lb)[2]
Start of mission
Launch date	23 March 1983 12:45 (1983-03-23UTC12:45) UTC
Rocket	Proton-K/D-1
Launch site	Baikonur 200/39
End of mission
Disposal	Decommissioned
Deactivated	23 March 1991
Orbital parameters
Reference system	High Earth
Semi-major axis	108,531 km (67,438 mi)[3]
Eccentricity	0.6575927[4]
Perigee altitude	30,791 km (19,133 mi)[3]
Apogee altitude	173,530.2 km (107,826.7 mi)[3]
Inclination	48.4°[3]
Period	5,930.5 minutes[3]
Mean motion	0.24281115 rev/day[4]
Epoch	19 July 2017 07:25:15 UTC
Main telescope
Collecting area	0.17 m2 (1.8 sq ft)[1]
Wavelengths	X-ray: 2–25 keV[1] Ultraviolet: 150–350 nm

The project was headed by Alexandr Boyarchuk.^[6][7][8] The spacecraft was designed and constructed by the Crimean Astrophysical Observatory and NPO Lavochkin. A group of scientists from these institutions was awarded the USSR State Prize for their work.^[9]

The payload consisted of an 80 cm ultraviolet telescope, which was jointly designed by the USSR and France, and an X-ray spectroscope.^[10] It could take UV spectra 150-350 nm.^[11]

Placed into an orbit with an apogee of 185,000 kilometres (115,000 mi), Astron was capable of making observations outside the Earth's umbra and radiation belt.

Among the most important observations made by Astron were those of SN 1987A supernova from March 4 to March 12, 1987,^[12] and of Halley's Comet in December 1985, the latter of which enabled a group of Soviet scientists to develop a model of the comet's coma.^[11]

Operation of the observatory ended on 23 March 1991.^[13]

See also

• Spaceflight portal

• Granat - a later space observatory based on the Venera spacecraft bus

References

1. Gunter D. Krebs. "Astron 1". Gunter's Space Page. Retrieved 25 October 2024.
2. Mark Wade. "Astron". Encyclopedia Astronautica. Retrieved 25 October 2024.
3. "ASTRON". N2YO.com. Retrieved 25 October 2024.
4. T. S. Kelso. "Astron (TLE)". CelesTrak.org. Retrieved 19 July 2017.
5. Jonathan McDowell. "Launch Log". Jonathan's Space Page. Retrieved 23 August 2009.
6. "Spektr-UF Project History" (in Russian). Archived from the original on 6 March 2005.
7. "Alexander Boyarchuk" (in Russian). Archived from the original on 30 September 2007. Retrieved 23 August 2009.
8. A. A. Boyarchuk (1994). Астрофизические исследdeaования на космической станции "Астрон" [Astrophysical research on the Astron space telescope] (in Russian). Moscow, Russia: Nauka.
9. "Crimean Astrophysical Observatory" (in Russian). Archived from the original on 27 September 2007. Retrieved 23 August 2009.
10. "The Astron Satellite". NASA / Goddard. 26 June 2003. Archived from the original on 26 August 2009. Retrieved 23 August 2009.
11. A. A. Boyarchuk; V. P. Grinin; A. M. Zvereva; P. P. Petrov; A. I. Sheikhet (1986). "A model for the coma of Comet Halley, based on the Astron ultraviolet spectrophotometry". Pis'ma v Astronomicheskii Zhurnal (in Russian). 12: 696–706. Bibcode:1986PAZh...12..696B.
12. A. A. Boyarchuk; R. E. Gershberg; A. M. Zvereva; P. P. Petrov; A. B. Severnyj; et al. (1987). "Observations on Astron: Supernova 1987A in the Large Magellanic Cloud". Pis'ma v Astronomicheskii Zhurnal (in Russian). 13: 739–743. Bibcode:1987PAZh...13..739B.
13. B. Harvey; O. Zakutnyaya (2011). Russian Space Probes: Scientific Discoveries and Future Missions. Springer Praxis. pp. 376–380. ISBN 978-1-441-98149-3.