The Compton Gamma Ray Observatory (GRO) was the second of NASA's
Great Observatories. Compton, at 17 tons, was the heaviest
astrophysical payload ever flown at the time of its launch on
April 5, 1991 aboard the space shuttle Atlantis. Compton was
safely deorbited and re-entered the Earth's atmosphere on June
4, 2000.
The objective of the Compton GRO was to make comprehensive
observations of gamma ray sources throughout the Universe. The
observatory carried four scientific instruments that made gamma
ray energy measurements from 0.1 million electron volts to
30,000 million electron volts.
The end of life was in June 2000. The failure of 1 gyroscope
requires the deorbitation of the satellite in order to make sure
it will not fall in a populated area. It is too large to
completely burn in the atmosphere.
Specifications:
Prime contractor: TRW
Dimension: 7.7 x 5.5 x 4.6 m
Mass at launch: 15622 kg
Dry mass: 13800 kg
Solar array: 21.5 m
Stabilization: 3-axis
DC power: EOL: 3980 W
Design lifetime: 2 years (min)
Additional information available at
"http://cossc.gsfc.nasa.gov/"
[Summary provided by NASA and The Satellite Encyclopedia]
Group: Platform_Details
Entry_ID: GRO
Group: Platform_Identification
Platform_Category: Solar/Space Observation Satellites
Short_Name: GRO
Long_Name: Gamma-Ray Observatory
End_Group
Group: Synonymous_Platform_Names
Short_Name: CGRO
Short_Name: GRO
Short_Name: 1991-027B
Short_Name: 20225
End_Group
Group: Platform_Associated_Instruments
Short_Name: BATSE
End_Group
Group: Orbit
Orbit_Inclination: 28.5 degrees
Period: 90 m
Perigee: 362 km
Apogee: 457 km
Orbit_Type: LEO > Low Earth Orbit > Inclined Non-Polar
End_Group
Online_Resource: http://cossc.gsfc.nasa.gov/docs/cgro/index.html
Sample_Image: http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/image/spacecraft/cgro.jpg
Group: Platform_Logistics
Launch_Date: 1991-04-05
Launch_Site: Cape Canaveral/Kennedy Space Center, USA
Primary_Sponsor: NASA
End_Group
End_Group (en)