25721 - ABRIXAS

ABRIXAS (A BRoad-band Imaging X-ray All-sky Survey) is a German astronomy spacecraft intended to monitor X-ray emissions in the universe. The 550-kg spacecraft was launched by a Cosmos 3M rocket from Kapustin Yar at 08:30 UT ON 1999 April 28. The imaging telescope, operating in the 0.5-10 keV X-ray range, is to map an estimated 10,000 new sources. The instrument is actually seven Wolter-1 telescopes of focal length 160 cm each with 27 nested mirrors of length 30 cm and diameters shrinking from 16.3 cm to 7.6 cm. The seven fields of view, each of 40 arcmin diameter, are separated by 7 deg from each other. Initial orbital parameters were period 96 min, apogee 598 km, perigee 549 km, and inclination 48 deg.

Alternate Names

A BRoad-band Imaging X-ray All-sky Survey

Facts in Brief

Launch Date: 1999-04-28
Launch Vehicle: Cosmos
Launch Site: Kapustin Yar, Russia
Mass: 550.0 kg