Usage Conditions May Apply Usage Conditions Apply There are restrictions for re-using this media. For more information, visit the Smithsonian's Terms of Use page. IIIF provides researchers rich metadata and image viewing options for comparison of works across cultural heritage collections. More - https://iiif.si.edu View Manifest View in Mirador Viewer Usage Conditions May Apply Usage Conditions Apply There are restrictions for re-using this media. For more information, visit the Smithsonian's Terms of Use page. IIIF provides researchers rich metadata and image viewing options for comparison of works across cultural heritage collections. More - https://iiif.si.edu View Manifest View in Mirador Viewer Usage Conditions May Apply Usage Conditions Apply There are restrictions for re-using this media. For more information, visit the Smithsonian's Terms of Use page. IIIF provides researchers rich metadata and image viewing options for comparison of works across cultural heritage collections. More - https://iiif.si.edu View Manifest View in Mirador Viewer

This is the engineering prototype of the optical telescope and spectrograph, carried by the third Orbiting Astronomical Observatory (OAO III) called "Copernicus." The telescope, known as the Princeton Experiment Package, consisted of an 82-cm (32-inch) parabolic mirror and a high-resolution spectrograph mounted at a modified Cassegrain focus. Launched on August 21, 1972, Copernicus was the second successful satellite in the OAO series. Over a 9-year period, Copernicus observed the ultraviolet spectra of stars, galaxies, a nova, and the interstellar medium. It provided new information about how stars form and age. Transferred from NASA in 1973.

 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 Perkin Elmer, Sylvania, GSFC
 Dimensions Storage (Rehoused on aluminum pallet): 304.8 × 121.9 × 155.6cm, 501.2kg (120 × 48 × 61 1/4 in., 1105lb.)
 Materials Tube -- titanium-aluminum alloy, optics and electronics
Optics - glass, fused silica
 Inventory Number A19731437000 Credit Line Transferred from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration Data Source National Air and Space Museum Restrictions & Rights Usage conditions apply
For more information, visit the Smithsonians Terms of Use.