Backup for the gamma-ray detector installed in the "wheel" section on the OSO-1 satellite launched on 7 March 1962. The detector, built at the University of Rochester, includes two scintillators and a Cerenkov counter. Entering gamma-rays impinge on a thin lead sheet in the instrument; the collision converts the high energy photon to an electron-positron pair. Those charged particles then lead to a flash of light in the Lucite Cerenkov counter. The resulting flashes are amplified and counted by a photomultiplier tube. The scintillators form part of the anti-coincidence circuit that accepts only those signals that enter the detector from the front. The instrument on OSO-1 detected the cosmic ray background but did not provide clear evidence for high energy solar events. The detector was transferred to NASM from the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory in December 1982.
Display Status
This object is on display in Boeing Aviation Hangar at the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly, VA.
Object Details
Country of Origin
United States of America
Type
INSTRUMENTS-Scientific
Manufacturer
University of Rochester
Dimensions
3-D: 27.9 x 35.6 x 19.7cm (11 x 14 x 7 3/4 in.)
Materials
Mixed metals
Lucite
Glass photomultipliers
Electronics
Inventory Number
A19830087000
Credit Line
Transferred from the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory
Data Source
National Air and Space Museum
Restrictions & Rights
Usage conditions apply
For more information, visit the Smithsonians Terms of Use.