Following a successful launch on a Proton rocket Saturday, a joint Russian and European all-sky-survey satellite is safely in space and heading towards its final destination.
The Spektrum-Röntgen-Gamma mission, also known as Spektr-RG, is a joint project between the Russian space agency, Roscosmos, and the German space agency, DLR. Spektr-RG launched to space from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan at 8:31 a.m. EDT (1231 GMT, or 5:31 p.m. local time).
The satellite is heading for the L2 Lagrange point, a point in space where gravitational forces are balanced allowing for station keeping with minimal fuel expenditure.
The spacecraft is expected to detect 100,000 galaxy clusters, 3 million supermassive black holes, tens of thousands of star-forming galaxies, the presence of plasma (superheated gas) and many more types of objects, according to Roscosmos.
The observatory includes two X-ray mirror telescopes, called ART-XC and eROSITA. ART-XC (a Russian payload) will examine the higher energies of X-rays, up to 30 keV, while eROSITA (Extended Roentgen Survey with an Imaging Telescope Array) is optimized for an energy range of 0.5 to 10 keV.
Spektr-RG should be in place, calibrated, and beginning its survey in about three months.
(Score: 2) by takyon on Sunday July 14 2019, @10:47PM
The Russians.
Not sure if it's PC to call them humans, plz check.
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