ORFEUS home
topic index
Other Designations: Orbiting and Retrievable Far and Extreme UV Spectrometer. Class: Astronomy. Type: Ultraviolet. Destination: Maximum Payload Orbit. Nation: USA. Agency: NASA. Manufacturer: MBB.

ORFEUS was a German astronomical satellite. It was deployed by the shuttle remote manipulating system arm and retrieved after six days of free flight. The main instrument was a 1 meter telescope with extreme ultraviolet (400-1150 Angstroms) and far ultraviolet (900-1250 Angstrom) spectrometers of high spectral resolution. Also carried was the Princeton Interstellar Medium Absorption Profile Spectrograph which studied the fine structure of ultraviolet absorption lines in stellar spectra caused by interstellar gas. The ORFEUS program was managed by the German space agency and the Shuttle Pallet Satellite (SPAS) spacecraft bus was made by Messerschmitt-Bolkow-Blohm.

Typical orbit: 301 km x 331 km at 29 degrees inclination.

ORFEUS Chronology
  • 1996 November 19 - ORFEUS - Launch Site: Cape Canaveral. Launch Complex: LC39B. Launch Vehicle: Shuttle. Perigee: 346 km (214 mi). Apogee: 359 km (223 mi). Inclination: 28.50 deg. Period: 91.60 min.
    Retrieved Dec 4

Bibliography:

  • McDowell, Jonathan, Jonathan's Space Home Page (launch records), Harvard University, 1997-present. Web Address when accessed: http://www.planet4589.org/jsr.html.
  • McDowell, Jonathan, Jonathan's Space Report (Internet Newsletter), Harvard University, Weekly, 1989 to Present. Web Address when accessed: http://www.planet4589.org/jsr.html.
  • NASA GSFC Orbital Parameters,
Contact us with any corrections, additions, or comments.
Conditions for use of drawings, pictures, or other materials from this site..
To contact astronauts or cosmonauts.

© Mark Wade, 1997 - 2008 except where otherwise noted.