Back-up or engineering prototype for a solar X-ray spectrometer flown on the stabilized sail portion of the OSO-2 satellite. The instrument was designed to map solar X-ray sources, to measure emission bursts and to measure emissions from prominences above the solar limb. It comprises an array of four Geiger counters fed from a common gas source. The three burst detectors were aimed at the solar disk and a background detector was aimed away from the sun. The satellite, placed in orbit on a Delta launch vehicle on 3 February 1965, was the second of a series of eight Orbiting Solar Observatories. OSO-2 returned solar X-ray, UV and gamma-ray data for nearly nine months. The artifact is part of a suite of NRL-designed instruments transferred to NASM by the Laboratory in December 1983 (see Catalogues #s 19840019 through 19840025000).
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
SPACECRAFT-Uncrewed-Instruments & Payloads
Manufacturer
Naval Research Laboratory
Dimensions
Overall: 3 in. tall x 8 in. wide x 38 1/2 in. deep (7.6 x 20.3 x 97.8cm)
Materials
Rectangular magnesium case filled with electronics
Inventory Number
A19840023000
Credit Line
Transferred from the Naval Research Laboratory
Data Source
National Air and Space Museum
Restrictions & Rights
Usage conditions apply
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