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This is an original detector from the inventory of Project Celescope, a battery of four telescopes developed at the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory in the 1960s and used on the OAO II satellite to survey the entire ultraviolet sky. Uvicon detectors were based upon standard Westinghouse "Vidicon" technology - TV tubes of that day. The detector itself is the smaller back end of the glass tube. The larger front section is an imaging system that converts ultraviolet light into electrons and electrostatically focuses them onto the Vidicon which produced a signal that could be telemetered to the ground for analysis. Celescope was flown on December 7, 1968 as part of the payload for the second Orbiting Astronomical Satellite (OAO II). The data from Celescope resulted in a catalog of over 5,000 ultraviolet colors for stars. Transferred to NASM from SAO in 1973 and currently stored at the Garber facility.

 Display Status

This object is not on display at the National Air and Space Museum. It is either on loan or in storage.
Object Details
Country of Origin United States of America Type INSTRUMENTS-Scientific Manufacturer Westinghouse
 Dimensions 3-D: 31.1 x 5.1cm (12 1/4 x 2 in.)
 Materials Glass, ceramic, ferrous alloy, and electronics
 Inventory Number A19731438000 Credit Line Transferred from the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory Data Source National Air and Space Museum Restrictions & Rights Usage conditions apply
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