Orbiting Astronomical Observatory 2

Orbiting Astronomical Observatory 2
Technicians in a clean room at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida, check out the Orbiting Astronomical Observatory 2 before the mission’s Dec. 7, 1968, launch.
NamesOAO-A2, OAO2
Mission typeAstronomy
OperatorNASA
COSPAR ID1968-110A Edit this at Wikidata
SATCAT no.3597
Spacecraft properties
ManufacturerGrumman
Dry mass2,012 kilograms (4,436 lb)
Start of mission
Launch date7 December 1968, 08:40:09 (1968-12-07UTC08:40:09) UTC
RocketAtlas SLV-3C Centaur-D
Launch siteCape Canaveral LC-36B
End of mission
DisposalTelescope issues
DeactivatedFebruary 1973 (1973-03)[1]
Orbital parameters
Reference systemGeocentric
RegimeLow Earth
Perigee altitude768 kilometres (477 mi)
Apogee altitude777 kilometres (483 mi)
Inclination35.0 degrees
Period100.30 minutes
Epoch6 January 1969[2]
← OAO-1
OAO-3 →

The Orbiting Astronomical Observatory 2 (OAO-2, nicknamed Stargazer) was the first successful space telescope (first space telescope being OAO-1, which failed to operate once in orbit), launched on December 7, 1968.[3] An Atlas-Centaur rocket launched it into a nearly circular 750-kilometre (470 mi) altitude Earth orbit.[4] Data was collected in ultraviolet on many sources including comets, planets, and galaxies.[3][5] It had two major instrument sets facing in opposite directions; the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory (SAO) and the Wisconsin Experiment Package (WEP).[5] One discovery was large halos of hydrogen gas around comets,[5] and it also observed Nova Serpentis, which was a nova discovered in 1970.[3]

  1. ^ "NASA's First Stellar Observatory, OAO 2, Turns 50". NASA. 11 December 2018. Retrieved 19 March 2023.
  2. ^ McDowell, Jonathan. "Satellite Catalog". Jonathan's Space Page. Retrieved 12 October 2013.
  3. ^ a b c Joseph A. Angelo (2014). Spacecraft for Astronomy. Infobase Publishing. p. 20. ISBN 978-1-4381-0896-4.
  4. ^ Gunter – OAO-2
  5. ^ a b c Orbiting Astronomical Observatory OAO-2