ORFEUS-SPAS [NASA]
ORFEUS-SPAS (Orbiting & Retrievable Far & Extreme UV Spectrometer - Shuttle Palette Satellite) is a joint NASA - DARA (the German space agency) project. The ORFEUS-SPAS 1 payload carried three ultraviolet instruments mounted on the free-flying Astro-SPAS module. The reusable Astro-SPAS platform is designed to be deployed from the Space Shuttle cargo bay for up to 2 weeks of free-flying science observations.
The ORFEUS-SPAS I mission was flown in September 1993. The mission acquired astronomical data on numerous targets during 5 days of observations. A second, 14 day flight (ORFEUS SPAS II) took place on STS-80 in November 1996.
The three ORFEUS-SPAS 1 instruments performed astronomical ultraviolet spectroscopy over the wavelength range 400 - 1250 Å. These instruments were:
Nation: | Germany, USA |
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Type / Application: | UV Astronomy, retrievable satellite |
Operator: | DARA, NASA |
Contractors: | Daimler Chrysler Aerospace |
Equipment: | FUV-Spectrometer, EUV-Spectrometer, IMAPS |
Configuration: | Astro-SPAS-Platform |
Propulsion: | |
Power: | Batteries |
Lifetime: | |
Mass: | 3500 kg |
Orbit: | 270 km × 304 km, 70.6° (#1) |
Satellite | COSPAR | Date | LS | Launch Vehicle | Remarks | |
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ORFEUS-SPAS 01 | 1993-058C | 12.09.1993 | CCK LC-39B | Shuttle | with Discovery F17 (STS 51), ACTS | |
ORFEUS-SPAS 02 | 1996-065B | 19.11.1996 | CCK LC-39B | Shuttle | with Columbia F21 (STS 80), WSF 3 |