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25-403: The satellite's Orbiting Solar Observatory (OSO) platform included a solar-oriented sail and a rotating wheel section. Ball Aerospace was the primary contractor for design and construction, and provided the attitude control and determination computer programs. The P78-1 carried a gamma-ray spectrometer , a white-light coronagraph , an extreme- ultraviolet imager, an X-ray spectrometer ,

50-407: A US Air Force F-15 Eagle fighter aircraft . The test resulted in 285 cataloged pieces of orbital debris . 1 piece of debris remained in orbit to at least May 2004, but had deorbited by 2008. The last piece of debris, COSPAR 1979-017GX, SATCAT 16564, deorbited 9 May 2004 according to SATCAT . The test outraged some scientists because although five of P78-1's instruments had failed at the time of

75-499: A high-latitude particle spectrometer, an aerosol monitor, and an X-ray monitor. The X-ray monitor, designated NRL-608 or XMON, was a collaboration between the Naval Research Laboratory and Los Alamos National Laboratory . The white-light coronagraph and the ultraviolet imager were combined in a single package, designated NRL-401 or SOLWIND, which was built by the Naval Research Laboratory . The coronagraph

100-581: A telescope in space. Spitzer's proposal called for a large telescope that would not be hindered by Earth's atmosphere. After lobbying in the 1960s and 70s for such a system to be built, Spitzer's vision ultimately materialized into the Hubble Space Telescope , which was launched on April 24, 1990, by the Space Shuttle Discovery (STS-31). This was launched due to many efforts by Nancy Grace Roman, "mother of Hubble", who

125-533: Is limited by the filtering and distortion of electromagnetic radiation ( scintillation or twinkling) due to the atmosphere . A telescope orbiting Earth outside the atmosphere is subject neither to twinkling nor to light pollution from artificial light sources on Earth. As a result, the angular resolution of space telescopes is often much higher than a ground-based telescope with a similar aperture . Many larger terrestrial telescopes, however, reduce atmospheric effects with adaptive optics . Space-based astronomy

150-504: Is more important for frequency ranges that are outside the optical window and the radio window , the only two wavelength ranges of the electromagnetic spectrum that are not severely attenuated by the atmosphere. For example, X-ray astronomy is nearly impossible when done from Earth, and has reached its current importance in astronomy only due to orbiting X-ray telescopes such as the Chandra X-ray Observatory and

175-773: The Soviet space program (later succeeded by Roscosmos of Russia). As of 2022, many space observatories have already completed their missions, while others continue operating on extended time. However, the future availability of space telescopes and observatories depends on timely and sufficient funding. While future space observatories are planned by NASA, JAXA and the CNSA , scientists fear that there would be gaps in coverage that would not be covered immediately by future projects and this would affect research in fundamental science. On 16 January 2023, NASA announced preliminary considerations of several future space telescope programs, including

200-577: The XMM-Newton observatory . Infrared and ultraviolet are also largely blocked. Space telescopes are much more expensive to build than ground-based telescopes. Due to their location, space telescopes are also extremely difficult to maintain. The Hubble Space Telescope was serviced by the Space Shuttle , but most space telescopes cannot be serviced at all. Satellites have been launched and operated by NASA , ISRO , ESA , CNSA , JAXA and

225-580: The "Sail", was driven electrically against the Wheel's rotation, and stabilized to point at the Sun. The Sail carried pointed solar instruments, and also the array of solar photovoltaic cells which powered the spacecraft. The critical bearing between the Wheel and the Sail was a major feature of the design, as it had to operate smoothly for months in the hard vacuum of space without normal lubrication. It also carried both

250-580: The daytime, and they avoid light pollution which ground-based observatories encounter. They are divided into two types: Satellites which map the entire sky ( astronomical survey ), and satellites which focus on selected astronomical objects or parts of the sky and beyond. Space telescopes are distinct from Earth imaging satellites , which point toward Earth for satellite imaging , applied for weather analysis , espionage , and other types of information gathering . In 1946, American theoretical astrophysicist Lyman Spitzer , "father of Hubble" proposed to put

275-644: The first operational telescopes were the American Orbiting Astronomical Observatory , OAO-2 launched in 1968, and the Soviet Orion 1 ultraviolet telescope aboard space station Salyut 1 in 1971. Space telescopes avoid several problems caused by the atmosphere, including the absorption or scattering of certain wavelengths of light, obstruction by clouds, and distortions due to atmospheric refraction such as twinkling . Space telescopes can also observe dim objects during

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300-428: The last of the three tape recorders failed in the spring of 1985, so data collection could only occur while the spacecraft was in contact with a ground station. A normal contact lasted only about 15 minutes, so this was a serious impediment. Special arrangements could be made to string several contacts together. As a result of these failures, an ever-increasing amount of time and network resources were spent reconfiguring

325-428: The power from the Sail and the data from the pointed solar instruments to the Wheel, where most of the spacecraft functions were located. Additional science instruments could also be located in the Wheel, generally looking out on a rotating radius vector which scanned the sky, and also across the Sun, every few seconds. OSO B suffered an incident during integration and checkout activities on 14 April 1964. The satellite

350-515: The satellite for normal operation. Data collection from the few remaining payloads was severely limited. Because of the additional burden on the Air Force Satellite Control Network (e.g., extra support and antenna time at the tracking stations), discussions were already underway to terminate the mission. This led to the satellite being chosen as a test target for an ASM-135 ASAT anti-satellite missile. The mission

375-613: The test, two instruments remained in operation, and the satellite was what one solar physicist called "the backbone of coronal research through the last seven years". Orbiting Solar Observatory The Orbiting Solar Observatory (abbreviated OSO ) Program was the name of a series of American space telescopes primarily intended to study the Sun , though they also included important non-solar experiments. Eight were launched successfully into low Earth orbit by NASA between 1962 and 1975 using Delta rockets . Their primary mission

400-467: The third stage managed to separate itself, it suffered from an 18% drop in thrust. The OSO spacecraft could not attain orbital velocity and instead fell back into the atmosphere and burned up. The failure was suspected to have been caused by a modification to the igniter mechanism in the third stage after some minor technical difficulties experienced on the previous Delta C launch (TIROS 10 on 2 Jul). The Advanced Orbiting Solar Observatory ( AOSO ) program

425-528: Was able to be repaired using a combination of prototype parts, spare flight parts and new components. It was launched ten months later on 3 February 1965 and was designated OSO 2 on orbit. OSO C never made it to orbit. Liftoff took place on 25 August 1965 and all went well through the second stage burn. During the coasting phase prior to third stage separation, its rocket motor ignited prematurely. This registered on ground readouts as an attitude disturbance followed by loss of second stage telemetry , and although

450-601: Was developed in the mid 1960s as a more advanced version of the OSO series. Conceived as a polar-orbiting satellite system, these spacecraft would continuously monitor the Sun and surrounding environment with detectors and electronic imaging ranging from x-rays to visual light. Due to budget constraints, the AOSO program was cancelled in 1965. Instead, it was replaced by the OSO-I, OSO-J and OSO-K satellites. Only OSO-I, which became OSO 8,

475-686: Was ever launched. Another satellite using the Orbiting Solar Observatory platform was developed and launched: the Solwind satellite. It was launched February 24, 1979. It was operated by the DoD Space Test Program . It was destroyed September 13, 1985 on an ASAT missile test. Space telescope A space telescope (also known as space observatory ) is a telescope in outer space used to observe astronomical objects. Suggested by Lyman Spitzer in 1946,

500-427: Was extended for several weeks solely to support the test. During this final phase, the satellite was often allowed to remain in the under-voltage condition for several days at a time. On September 13, 1985, the satellite was destroyed in orbit at 20:43 UTC at 35°N 126°W  /  35°N 126°W  / 35; -126 with an altitude of 525 kilometres (326 mi) by an ASM-135 ASAT launched from

525-526: Was found by Rainer Kracht, a German amateur astronomer, on 23 July 2005 in Solwind's images of 17 Sep 1984. Its perihelion distance of 0.1051 AU was at least ten times larger than that of the previously found true sungrazers. By 1985, the satellite's batteries were degrading. This caused more and more frequent "under-voltage cutoffs", a condition where the satellite detected a low main bus voltage and automatically shut down all non-vital systems. In addition,

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550-473: Was inside the Spin Test Facility at Cape Canaveral attached to the third stage of its Delta C booster when a technician accidentally ignited the booster through static electricity. The third-stage motor activated, launched itself and the satellite into the roof, and ricocheted into a corner of the facility until burning out. Three technicians were burned to death. The satellite, although damaged,

575-468: Was the first Chief of Astronomy and first female executive at NASA. She was a program scientist that worked to convince NASA, Congress, and others that Hubble was "very well worth doing". The first operational space telescopes were the American Orbiting Astronomical Observatory , OAO-2 launched in 1968, and the Soviet Orion 1 ultraviolet telescope aboard space station Salyut 1 in 1971. Performing astronomy from ground-based observatories on Earth

600-563: Was the flight spare of the white-light coronagraph on the OSO-7 satellite. The ultraviolet imager used a CCD imager, one of the first uses of a CCD in space. P78-1 was the first satellite in space to discover a comet in general and a sungrazing comet in particular. In total, 9 sungrazing comets, all belonging to the Kreutz group , were discovered on images taken by the Solwind coronagraph: Apart from these yet another comet C/1984 R1 (SOLWIND)

625-597: Was to observe an 11-year sun spot cycle in UV and X-ray spectra. The initial seven (OSO 1–7) were built by Ball Aerospace , then known as Ball Brothers Research Corporation (BBRC), in Boulder, Colorado . OSO 8 was built by Hughes Space and Communications Company, in Culver City, California . The basic design of the entire series featured a rotating section, the "Wheel", to provide gyroscopic stability. A second section,

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