Mission type X-ray astronomy COSPAR ID 1999-022A Inclination 48° | Operator DLR SATCAT no. 25721 Launch date 28 April 1999 Inclination 48° Last contact 1 May 1999 | |
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Launch mass 550.0 kilograms (1,212.5 lb) Similar Array of Low Energy X, Gamma, High Energy Astronom, CHIPSat, Wide Field Infrared Explorer | ||
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 Cosmos 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.
The telescope's battery was accidentally overcharged and destroyed three days after the mission started. When attempts to communicate with the satellite when its solar panels were illuminated by sunlight failed, the $20 million project was abandoned.
References
ABRIXAS Wikipedia(Text) CC BY-SA