Spektr-X-gamma
The first Spektr satellite to be launched will be Spektr-X-gamma currently scheduled for 1996. The Proton launch vehicle will insert the spacecraft into a highly elliptical orbit with a perigee near 2,000 km and an apogee of 200,000 km, resulting in a 4-day orbital period similar to that of Granat. Originally conceived and sponsored by the USSR/CIS Institute of Space Research, Spektr-Xγ now boasts wide cooperation from 20 international participants, including the former Czechoslovakia, Denmark, ESA, Finland, Germany, Israel, Italy, Japan, Turkey, the UK, and the US.
The principal scientific instrument will be the SODART grazing incidence X-ray telescope assembly with two parallel telescopes operating in the 0.3-20 keV regime. The approximately 1.5 metric ton unit offers nine focal instruments,including a polarimeter, a gas scintillation proportional counter, a spectrometer, and four (two per telescope) XSPECT position-sensitive proportional counters. Also part of the scientific package will be the JET-X (Joint European Xray Telescope) X-ray telescope (0.1-10 keV),the MART X-ray telescope (4-100 keV), the EUVITA UV telescope (0.07 keV), the MOXE X-ray burst detector (3-12 keV), and the SPIN gamma ray burst detector (10 keV-MeV). The total spacecraft will be approximately 5.6 metric tons, including the 2.8 metric ton payload (References 289-293).
Although more than four years behind schedule, Spektr-X-gamma did make steady progress during 1993-1994, both technically and financially. Most engineering tests were successfully completed, and activities shifted to the menufacture and integration of flight hardware. The success of Spektr-X-gamma may well decide the fate of her sister spacecraft (References 294-297).
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