INTEGRAL1
Artist's view of INTEGRAL spacecraft
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| Mission type | Astronomy | ||||||||||||||
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| Operator | ESA / RKA / NASA | ||||||||||||||
| COSPAR ID | 2002-048A | ||||||||||||||
| SATCAT no. | 27540 | ||||||||||||||
| Website | sci |
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| Mission duration | 14 years, 7 months and 23 days elapsed | ||||||||||||||
| Spacecraft properties | |||||||||||||||
| Manufacturer | Alenia Spazio | ||||||||||||||
| Launch mass | ~ 4,000 kg (8,800 lb) | ||||||||||||||
| Dry mass | ~ 3,450 kg (7,610 lb) | ||||||||||||||
| Payload mass | ~ 2,000 kg (4,400 lb) | ||||||||||||||
| Dimensions | 5 m × 2.8 m × 3.2 m (16.4 ft × 9.2 ft × 10.5 ft) | ||||||||||||||
| Start of mission | |||||||||||||||
| Launch date | 17 October 2002, 01:33 UTC | ||||||||||||||
| Rocket | Proton-K Blok-DM2 | ||||||||||||||
| Launch site | Baikonur 200/39 | ||||||||||||||
| Contractor | Roscomos | ||||||||||||||
| Orbital parameters | |||||||||||||||
| Reference system | Geocentric | ||||||||||||||
| Regime | Highly elliptical | ||||||||||||||
| Semi-major axis | 87,941 kilometres (54,644 mi) | ||||||||||||||
| Perigee | 6,281.9 kilometres (3,903.4 mi) | ||||||||||||||
| Apogee | 156,859.1 kilometres (97,467.7 mi) | ||||||||||||||
| Inclination | 54.0 degrees | ||||||||||||||
| Period | 4,325.6 minutes | ||||||||||||||
| Epoch | 27 January 2015, 17:47:58 UTC | ||||||||||||||
| Main telescope | |||||||||||||||
| Type | Coded mask telescope | ||||||||||||||
| Diameter | 3.7 metres (12 ft) | ||||||||||||||
| Focal length | ~ 4 metres (13 ft) | ||||||||||||||
| Collecting area | 500 cm2 (78 sq in) (SPI, JEM-X) 3,100 cm2 (480 sq in) (IBIS) |
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| Wavelengths | 15 keV to 10 MeV (main) 3 to 35 keV (JEM-X) 500 to 580 nm (OMC) |
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| Instruments | |
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| ACS | AntiCoincidence Shield |
| IBIS | Imager on-Board the INTEGRAL Satellite |
| IREM | INTEGRAL Radiation Environment Monitor |
| JEM-X | Joint European X-Ray Monitor |
| OMC | Optical Monitor Camera |
| SPI | SPectrometer for INTEGRAL |
ESA astrophysics insignia for the INTEGRAL mission
INTErnational Gamma-Ray Astrophysics Laboratory (INTEGRAL) is a currently operational space telescope for observing gamma rays. It was launched by the European Space Agency into Earth orbit in 2002, and is designed to detect some of the most energetic radiation that comes from space. It was the most sensitive gamma ray observatory launched before Fermi.
INTEGRAL is an ESA mission in cooperation with the Russian Space Agency and NASA. It has had some notable successes, for example in detecting a mysterious 'iron quasar'. It has also had success in investigating gamma-ray bursters and evidence for black holes.
Because gamma rays and X-rays cannot penetrate Earth's atmosphere, direct observations must be made from space. INTEGRAL was launched from Baikonur spaceport, in Kazakhstan. The 2002 launch aboard a Proton-DM2 rocket achieved a 700 km perigee. The onboard thrusters then raised the perigee out of the residual atmosphere, and the worst regions of the radiation belts. The apogee was trimmed with the thrusters to synchronize with Earth's rotation, and thus, the satellite's ground stations.
INTEGRAL's operational orbit has a period of 72 hours, and has a high eccentricity, with perigee close to the Earth at 10,000 km, within the magnetospheric radiation belt. However, most of each orbit is spent outside this region, where scientific observations may take place. It reaches a furthest distance from Earth (apogee) of 153,000 km. The apogee was placed in the northern hemisphere, to reduce time spent in eclipses, and maximize contact time over the ground stations in the northern hemisphere.
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