SAX

Italy / Netherlands (ESA)

Spacecraft n°:

Italian spacecraft n°: 11

Satellite per Astronomia a raggi X, also called BeppoSAX

Launch data:

Designation	23857 / 96027A
Launch date	30 Apr 1996
Launch site	CC, LC-36B
Launch vehicle	Atlas-1 (AC-78 #100)
Mission	Scientific: high energy astrophysics (X-ray astronomy)
Earth orbit:
Perigee/Apogee	581/605 km
Inclination	4°
Period	~ 97 min

Specifications

Prime contractor	Alenia Spazio
Platform
Mass at launch	1400 kg
Payload mass	490 kg
Diameter	2.7 m
Height	3.6 m
Solar array	9 m span (2 panels of 2.6 x 3.5 m)
Stabilization	3 axis
DC power	EOL: 2300 W
Design lifetime	4 years

Payload

4 X-ray concentrators/spectrometers
2 wide-field X-ray cameras (WFC)
large area phoswich detector system (PDS)
high-pressure gas-scintillation proportional counter HPCPC)

command: 2 kbps, S-band
telemetry/data: 2245.500 MHz (16/131/917 kbps)
Other possible frequencies: 2067.5 MHz & 2245.24887 MHz

X-ray energy detection range	0.1-300 keV
Field of view	WFC: 20 x 20 deg others: 0.5-1.5 deg
Angular resolution	WFC: 5 arcmin others: ~ 1 arcmin

Ref: #15 - update: 24.10.04