Spas 3

France / Germany

Spacecraft n°:

Germany spacecraft n°: 21

Also called Orfeus (Orbiting and Retrievable Far and Extreme UV Spectrometer)

Launch data:

Designation	22798 / 93058C
Launch date	12 Sep 1993
Launch site	KSC, LC-39B
Launch vehicle	Shuttle STS-51
Mission	Scientific: Astronomy
Operator	DARA
Earth orbit:
Perigee/Apogee	301/331 km
Inclination	28.5°
Period	90.9 min

The main instrument is the 1-meter Orfeus telescope with EUV (400-1150A) and far UV (900-1250A) spectrometers with high spectral resolution. A secondary experiment is the Princeton Interstellar Medium Absorption Profile Spectrograph which studied very fine structure in ultraviolet absorption lines caused by interstellar gas in stellar spectra.

End of life

Cause	Retrieved by the Shuttle
Decay	22 Sep 1993

Ref: #1, #15 - update: 24.10.04