India to put observatory in orbit

• Autores: Pallava Bagla
• Localización: Science, ISSN 0036-8075, Vol. 349, Nº 6254, 2015, págs. 1271-1272
• Idioma: inglés
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• Resumen

  • On 28 September, India plans to launch a major space-based observatory that will set a milestone for a developing country—and also mark a first for space science. The $45-million Astrosat mission will put India in an elite group of science powers—the United States, the European Union, and Japan—doing astronomy from orbit. The spacecraft also has a unique design. Instead of focusing on a single region of the spectrum, it carries a suite of five instruments, including two telescopes, which will observe cosmic objects simultaneously in several wavebands: visible, ultraviolet, and soft and hard x-rays. Astrosat's multiwavelength capability could pay special dividends with sources that flare up rapidly, such as x-ray binaries.