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ABRIXAS

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ABRIXAS
Illustration of ABRIXAS in orbit.
Mission typeX-ray astronomy
OperatorDLR
COSPAR ID1999-022A Edit this at Wikidata
SATCAT no.25721
Mission duration3 days (mission failure)
Spacecraft properties
Launch mass550.0 kilograms (1,212.5 lb)
Start of mission
Launch date28 April 1999, 20:30 (1999-04-28UTC20:30Z) UTC
RocketKosmos-3M
Launch siteKapustin Yar 107
End of mission
Last contact1 May 1999 (1999-06)[1]
Decay date31 October 2017[2]
Orbital parameters
Reference systemGeocentric
RegimeLow Earth Orbit
Semi-major axis6,869.9 kilometers (4,268.8 mi)
Eccentricity0.00352
Perigee altitude549 km (341 mi)
Apogee altitude598 km (372 mi)
Inclination48.0 degrees
Period96.00 minutes
Epoch28 April 1999, 04:30:00 UTC[3]

A Broadband Imaging X-ray All-sky Survey, or ABRIXAS, was a space-based German X-ray telescope. It was launched on 28 April 1999 in a Kosmos-3M launch vehicle from Kapustin Yar, Russia, into Earth orbit. The orbit had a periapsis of 549.0 kilometres (341.1 mi), an apoapsis of 598.0 kilometres (371.6 mi), an inclination of 48.0° and an eccentricity of 0.00352, giving it a period of 96 minutes.[3]

The telescope's battery was accidentally overcharged and destroyed three days after the mission started. When attempts to communicate with the satellite – while its solar panels were illuminated by sunlight – failed, the $20 million project was abandoned.[4] ABRIXAS decayed from orbit on 31 October 2017.

The eROSITA telescope was based on the design of the ABRIXAS observatory.[5] eROSITA was launched on board the Spektr-RG space observatory on 13 July 2019 from Baikonur to be deployed at the second Lagrange point (L2).[6]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "ABRIXAS". DLR. Retrieved 15 July 2024.
  2. ^ Krebs, Gunter Dirk. "ABRIXAS". Gunter's Space Page. Retrieved 22 November 2022.
  3. ^ a b "NASA – NSSD – Spacecraft – Trajectory Details (ABRIXAS)". NASA. Retrieved 2008-02-27.
  4. ^ Wade, Mark. "ABRIXAS". astronautix.com. Archived from the original on December 28, 2016. Retrieved 2008-02-28.
  5. ^ "Spectrum-RG/eRosita/Lobster mission definition document". Russian Space Research Institute. 30 October 2005. Archived from the original on 20 April 2024.
  6. ^ Zak, Anatoly (16 April 2016). "Spektr-RG to expand horizons of X-ray astronomy". Russian Space Web. Retrieved 16 September 2016.

Further reading

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  • Hahn, Hermann-Michael (1 March 1997). "Warten auf ABRIXAS" [Waiting for ABRIXAS]. wissenschaft.de (in German). Retrieved 2024-07-15.
  • "The ABRIXAS Mission". Max Planck Institute for Extraterrestrial Physics. Archived from the original on 3 May 2006. Retrieved 2024-07-15.