ROSAT

Röntgensatellit

Launch of the ROSAT in Cape Canaveral, Florida.
Names	ROSAT
Mission type	Space Telescope
Operator	DLR / NASA
COSPAR ID	1990-049A
SATCAT no.	20638
Website	www.dlr.de/en/rosat
Mission duration	8 years and 8 months
Spacecraft properties
Launch mass	2,421 kilograms (5,337 lb)
Start of mission
Launch date	21:48:00, 1 June 1990 (UTC) (1990-06-01T21:48:00Z)
Rocket	Delta II 6920-10
Launch site	Cape Canaveral LC-17A
End of mission
Deactivated	12 February 1999
Decay date	23:00:00, 23 October 2011 (UTC) (2011-10-23T23:00:00Z)
Orbital parameters
Reference system	Geocentric
Eccentricity	0
Perigee altitude	580 km (360 mi)[1]
Apogee altitude	580 km (360 mi)
Inclination	53°
Period	96 min
Epoch	1990-06-01
Main
Type	Wolter I
Diameter	84 centimetres (33 in)
Focal length	240 centimetres (94 in)
Wavelengths	30-0.06 nm, X-rays and Extreme Ultraviolet
Resolution	5 arc-s at half energy width[1]
Instruments
Position Sensitive Proportional Counter Wide Field Camera High Resolution Imager

ROSAT (short for Röntgensatellit; in German X-rays are called Röntgenstrahlen, in honour of Wilhelm Röntgen) was a German Aerospace Center-led satellite X-ray telescope, with instruments built by West Germany, the United Kingdom and the United States. It was launched on 1 June 1990, on a Delta II rocket from Cape Canaveral, on what was initially designed as an 18-month mission, with provision for up to five years of operation. ROSAT operated for over eight years, finally shutting down on 12 February 1999.

In February 2011, it was reported that the 2,400 kg (5,291 lb) satellite was unlikely to burn up entirely while re-entering the Earth's atmosphere due to the large amount of ceramics and glass used in construction. Parts as heavy as 400 kg (882 lb) could impact the surface.^[2] ROSAT eventually re-entered the Earth's atmosphere on 23 October 2011 over the Bay of Bengal.^[3]