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Spartan 204

Spartan 204 F1 [NASA]

Spartan 204 (Shuttle Pointed Autonomous Research Tool for Astronomy 204) was a free-flying payload that was released from space shuttle STS 63 on 6 February 1995.

Spartan 204 carried the Naval Research Laboratory's Far Ultraviolet Imaging Spectrograph (FUVIS) experiment. Its science objectives were to study astronomical and artificially-induced sources of diffuse far-ultraviolet radiation. The astronomical sources of interest included diffuse nebulae (H II regions, reflection nebulae, and supernova remnants) and the diffuse galactic background radiation, for measurements of temperature and abundances (in the gaseous phase) and of the scattering properties of dust grains (particularly at short wavelengths).

The instrument design optimized its diffuse-source sensitivity and long-slit imaging capability. Observations were obtained in the 970-2000 Å and 1230-2000 Å wavelength ranges, with spectral resolution as good as 5 Å. The field of view along the spectrograph slit was 2.7R and the spatial imaging resolution along the slit was about 3 arc min. Targets of observation included the Orion Nebula (observed with several slit azimuth orientations centered on the nebula), the region of 15 Mon, IC 410, the Crab Nebula, the California Nebula, and the Rosette Nebula.

It made about 40 hours of observations of galactic dust clouds before being retrieved on 9 February 1995.

Nation: USA
Type / Application: UV X-Ray Astronomy (Shuttle retrievable)
Operator: NASA Goddard, USAF STP (Space Test Program)
Contractors:
Equipment: FUVIS
Configuration: Spartan-200
Propulsion: ?
Power: Batteries
Lifetime:
Mass:
Orbit: 310 km × 342 km, 51.6°
Satellite COSPAR Date LS Launch Vehicle Remarks
Spartan 204-F1 (P90-4) 1995-004B 03.02.1995 CCK LC-39B Shuttle with Discovery F20 (STS 63), ODERACS 2A, 2B, 2C, 2D, 2E, 2F

References:

Further STP missions:

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