Ariel V
Encyclopedia
Ariel 5 was a joint British
and American
space observatory
dedicated to observing the sky in the X-ray
band. It was launched on October 15, 1974 from the San Marco platform
in the Indian Ocean
and operated until 1980. It was the penultimate satellite to be launched as part of the Ariel programme. It was designed to fit a resource budget of 2 kg, 1 bit per second, and 1 W.
The All-sky monitor (ASM) was two one-dimensional pinhole cameras scanned most of the sky every spacecraft revolution. The angular resolution was 10 x 10°, with an effective area of 3 cm2, and a bandpass of 3-6 keV.
The SSI had an angular resolution of 0.75 x 10.6°, with an effective area of 290 cm2, and a bandpass of 2-20 keV.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
and American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
space observatory
Space observatory
A space observatory is any instrument in outer space which is used for observation of distant planets, galaxies, and other outer space objects...
dedicated to observing the sky in the X-ray
X-ray
X-radiation is a form of electromagnetic radiation. X-rays have a wavelength in the range of 0.01 to 10 nanometers, corresponding to frequencies in the range 30 petahertz to 30 exahertz and energies in the range 120 eV to 120 keV. They are shorter in wavelength than UV rays and longer than gamma...
band. It was launched on October 15, 1974 from the San Marco platform
San Marco platform
The Luigi Broglio Space Centre is an Italian-owned spaceport near Malindi, Kenya, named after its founder and Italian space pioneer Luigi Broglio. Developed in the 1960s through a partnership between the University of Rome La Sapienza's Aerospace Research Centre and NASA, the BSC served as a...
in the Indian Ocean
Indian Ocean
The Indian Ocean is the third largest of the world's oceanic divisions, covering approximately 20% of the water on the Earth's surface. It is bounded on the north by the Indian Subcontinent and Arabian Peninsula ; on the west by eastern Africa; on the east by Indochina, the Sunda Islands, and...
and operated until 1980. It was the penultimate satellite to be launched as part of the Ariel programme. It was designed to fit a resource budget of 2 kg, 1 bit per second, and 1 W.
The All-sky monitor (ASM) was two one-dimensional pinhole cameras scanned most of the sky every spacecraft revolution. The angular resolution was 10 x 10°, with an effective area of 3 cm2, and a bandpass of 3-6 keV.
The SSI had an angular resolution of 0.75 x 10.6°, with an effective area of 290 cm2, and a bandpass of 2-20 keV.