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The International Ultraviolet Explorer (IUE) was the first experiment to explore the full range of ultraviolet radiation from the universe. The IUE was a satellite sponsored and operated jointly by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), the United Kingdom's Science and Engineering Research Council (SERC) and the European Space Agency (ESA), and dedicated to gathering astronomical data in the ultraviolet range of the spectrum. The IUE was launched by a Thor-Delta rocket on January 26, 1978 and placed into a geosynchronous orbit around the Earth. It carried a 45-centimeter Cassegrain reflecting telescope with two spectrographs, collected spectral data in real time and was capable of being operated by a visiting astronomer at one of two ground stations: in Madrid, Spain, and at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center. The observer could perform preliminary evaluation and analysis during the observing session, operating the system much like a modern ground-based telescope. In its18 years of operation the IUE provided data for thousands of scientific papers. IUE real time operations terminated on September 27, 1996.

 Identifier

NASM.2012.0022

Creator

Harner, Dick

Date

bulk 1973-1976

Provenance

Dick Harner, Gift, 2012

Extent

0.36 Cubic feet ((1 box))

Archival Repository

National Air and Space Museum Archives

Scope and Contents

This collection consists of two 8 by 10 inch green notebooks, which chart the construction of the International Ultraviolet Explorer (IUE) Satellite. Book one records from October 1, 1973 until September 16, 1974. Book two records from September 17, 1974 until January 9, 1976. The books contain black and white photographs with related notations.

Rights

Material is subject to Smithsonian Terms of Use. Should you wish to use NASM material in any medium, please submit an Application for Permission to Reproduce NASM Material, available at Permissions Requests

Restrictions

No restrictions on access.

Citation

International Ultraviolet Explorer (IUE) Satellite Notebooks, Accession 2012-0022, National Air and Space Museum, Smithsonian Institution.

Topics

Astronautics

Artificial satellites

Artificial satellites -- Tracking

Ultraviolet spectrometry

International Ultraviolet Explorer

Type

Collection descriptions

Archival materials

Notebooks