Uhuru (satellite)

Uhuru
Uhuru (X-ray Explorer Satellite)
Mission typeAstronomy
OperatorNASA
COSPAR ID1970-107A Edit this at Wikidata
SATCAT no.4797
Websiteheasarc.gsfc.nasa.gov/docs/uhuru/uhuru.html
Mission duration3 years
Spacecraft properties
Dry mass141.5 kilograms (312 lb)
Start of mission
Launch date12 December 1970, 10:53:50 (1970-12-12UTC10:53:50Z) UTC
RocketScout B S175C
Launch siteSan Marco
End of mission
Last contactMarch 1973 (1973-04)
Decay date5 April 1979
Orbital parameters
Reference systemGeocentric
RegimeLow Earth
Eccentricity0.002956
Perigee altitude520.0 kilometers (323.1 mi)
Apogee altitude560.0 kilometers (348.0 mi)
Inclination3.0 degrees
Period95.70 minutes
Epoch12 December 1970, 05:54:00 UTC[1]
Instruments
All-Sky X-Ray Survey

Uhuru was the first satellite launched specifically for the purpose of X-ray astronomy. It was also known as the X-ray Explorer Satellite, SAS-A (for Small Astronomy Satellite A, the first of the three-spacecraft SAS series), SAS 1, or Explorer 42. The NASA observatory was launched on 12 December 1970 into an initial orbit of about 560 km apogee, 520 km perigee, 3 degrees inclination, with a period of 96 minutes. The mission ended in March 1973. Uhuru was a scanning mission, with a spin period of ~12 minutes. It performed the first comprehensive survey of the entire sky for X-ray sources, with a sensitivity of about 0.001 times the intensity of the Crab nebula.

  1. ^ "NASA - NSSDCA - Spacecraft - Trajectory Details". nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov. Retrieved 2 May 2018.