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IUE

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IUE Credit: NASA

AKA: International Ultraviolet Explorer.. Status: Operational 1978. First Launch: 1978-01-26. Last Launch: 1978-01-26. Number: 1 . Gross mass: 672 kg (1,481 lb).

NASA NSSDC Master Catalog Description

The International Ultraviolet Explorer (IUE, formerly SAS-D) satellite was a spaceborne ultraviolet astronomical observatory for use as an international facility. The IUE contained a 45-cm telescope solely for spectroscopy in the wavelength range o 1150 to 3250 A. The satellite and optical instrumentation were provided by the Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC). The television cameras, used as detectors, were provided by the United Kingdom Science Engineering Research Council (SERC, formerly UKSRC). The European Space Agency (ESA, formerly ESRO) supplied solar paddles for the satellite and a European Control Center. After launch, two-thirds of the observing time was directed from a control center at GSFC; one-third of the time the satellite was operated from the European Control Center near Madrid. The IUE observatory was in a synchronous orbit.

The 45 cm Ritchey-Chretien f/15 telescope fed a spectrograph package. The spectrograph package, using secondary electron conduction (SEC) Vidicon cameras as detectors, covered the spectral range from 1150 to 3250 A, operating in either a high- or low-resolution mode with resolutions of approximately 0.1 and 6 A, respectively. The SEC Vidicons could integrate the signal for up to many hours. At high resolution, spectra of stellar sources were obtained as faint as 12th magnitude, while at lower resolution, observations had been made of sources fainter than 17th magnitude. The latter observations required 14 hours of integration time.

Listings of guest observers and their investigations can be obtained from the IUE Newsletter, IUE Observatory, Code 685, Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Maryland 20771, U.S.A. For more details, see A. Boggess et al., Nature, v. 275, p. 372, 1978; A. Boggess et al., Nature, v. 275 p. 377, 1978.

IUE was shut down at 18:42 UT, 30 September 1996.

Photo Gallery

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IUE 1 Credit: Manufacturer Image

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• IUE 1 - . Payload: IUE. Mass: 672 kg (1,481 lb). Nation: USA. Agency: ESA, NASA. Class: Astronomy. Type: X-ray astronomy satellite. Spacecraft: IUE. Completed Operations Date: 1996-09-30 . USAF Sat Cat: 10637 . COSPAR: 1978-012A. Apogee: 41,296 km (25,660 mi). Perigee: 30,285 km (18,818 mi). Inclination: 34.30 deg. Period: 1,436.30 min.

  International Ultraviolet Explorer. Spacecraft engaged in practical applications and uses of space technology such as weather or communication (US Cat C). Positioned in geosynchronous orbit over the Atlantic Ocean at 30 deg W in-60 deg W in 1978-1996 As of 3 September 2001 located at 35.66 deg E drifting at 0.773 deg W per day. As of 2007 Mar 8 located at 14.14W drifting at 0.700W degrees per day.