Spacelab 1
Mission OverviewThe first Spacelab mission, in orbit in the payload bay of the Space Shuttle (STS-9) from 28 November-8 December 1983, carried a multi-disciplinary payload intended to demonstrate that good science could be done on short shuttle flights.
InstrumentationAn X-ray spectrometer, measuring 2-30 keV photons (although 2-80 keV was possible), was on the pallet. The primary science objective was to study detailed spectral features in cosmic sources and their temporal changes. The instrument was a gas scintillation proportional counter (GSPC) with ~ 180 sq-cm area and energy resolution of 9% at 7 keV. The detector was collimated to a 4.5 deg (FWHM) field of view. There were 512 energy channels.
ScienceData were accumulated for all intended targets. These included: Cyg X-2, 4U1636-53, Her X-1, Coma, Cyg X-3, Perseus, Cyg X-1, Cas A, Crab, Cen X-3, Cen X-2, and Vela X-1.
Page authors: Lorella Angelini Jesse Allen HEASARC Home | Observatories | Archive | Calibration | Software | Tools | Students/Teachers/Public Last modified: Thursday, 26-Jun-2003 13:48:18 EDT |