ROSAT

Röntgensatellit
Launch of the ROSAT in Cape Canaveral, Florida.
NamesROSAT
Mission typeSpace Telescope
OperatorDLR / NASA
COSPAR ID1990-049A Edit this at Wikidata
SATCAT no.20638
Websitewww.dlr.de/en/rosat
Mission duration8 years and 8 months
Spacecraft properties
Launch mass2,421 kilograms (5,337 lb)
Start of mission
Launch date21:48:00, 1 June 1990 (UTC) (1990-06-01T21:48:00Z)
RocketDelta II 6920-10
Launch siteCape Canaveral LC-17A
End of mission
Deactivated12 February 1999
Decay date23:00:00, 23 October 2011 (UTC) (2011-10-23T23:00:00Z)
Orbital parameters
Reference systemGeocentric
Eccentricity0
Perigee altitude580 km (360 mi)[1]
Apogee altitude580 km (360 mi)
Inclination53°
Period96 min
Epoch1990-06-01
Main
TypeWolter I
Diameter84 centimetres (33 in)
Focal length240 centimetres (94 in)
Wavelengths30-0.06 nm, X-rays and Extreme Ultraviolet
Resolution5 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]

  1. ^ a b "ROSAT space craft details". nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov. NASA. Retrieved 23 April 2016.
  2. ^ Seidler, Christoph (26 February 2011). "Drohender Absturz: Problem-Satellit beunruhigt Bundesregierung". Der Spiegel (in German). Retrieved 26 February 2011.
  3. ^ DLR. "ROSAT re-entered atmosphere over Bay of Bengal". DLR Portal. Retrieved 14 July 2018.