Spektr-R is a Russian

Russia

Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...

 orbital radio telescope

Radio telescope

A radio telescope is a form of directional radio antenna used in radio astronomy. The same types of antennas are also used in tracking and collecting data from satellites and space probes...

, and currently the largest space telescope

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...

 in orbit. It is funded by the Russian Astro Space Center

Astro Space Center (Russia)

This enclave of scientific research is officially known as Astro Space Center of PN Lebedev Physics Institute, and is under the purview of the Russian Academy of Sciences. Generally speaking, the space center's mission focuses on astrophysics, which includes cosmology. The emphasis is on...

, and was launched into Earth orbit on 18 July 2011, with a perigee

Perigee

Perigee is the point at which an object makes its closest approach to the Earth.. Often the term is used in a broader sense to define the point in an orbit where the orbiting body is closest to the body it orbits. The opposite is the apogee, the farthest or highest point.The Greek prefix "peri"...

 of 10000 kilometres (6,213.7 mi) and an apogee of 390000 kilometres (242,335.4 mi), about 700 times of the orbital height of the Hubble Space Telescope

Hubble Space Telescope

The Hubble Space Telescope is a space telescope that was carried into orbit by a Space Shuttle in 1990 and remains in operation. A 2.4 meter aperture telescope in low Earth orbit, Hubble's four main instruments observe in the near ultraviolet, visible, and near infrared...

. The main scientific goal of the mission is the study of astronomical objects with an angular resolution

Angular resolution

Angular resolution, or spatial resolution, describes the ability of any image-forming device such as an optical or radio telescope, a microscope, a camera, or an eye, to distinguish small details of an object...

 up to a few millionths of an arcsecond

Minute of arc

A minute of arc, arcminute, or minute of angle , is a unit of angular measurement equal to one sixtieth of one degree. In turn, a second of arc or arcsecond is one sixtieth of one minute of arc....

. This is accomplished by using the satellite in conjunction with ground-based observatories and interferometry

Interferometry

Interferometry refers to a family of techniques in which electromagnetic waves are superimposed in order to extract information about the waves. An instrument used to interfere waves is called an interferometer. Interferometry is an important investigative technique in the fields of astronomy,...

 techniques.

Spektr-R is one of the instruments in the RadioAstron program, an international network of observatories led by the Astro Space Center of the Lebedev Physical Institute.

The telescope is intended for radio-astrophysical observations of extragalactic objects with ultra-high resolution, as well as researching of characteristics of near-Earth and interplanetary plasma. The very high angular resolving power

Angular resolution

Angular resolution, or spatial resolution, describes the ability of any image-forming device such as an optical or radio telescope, a microscope, a camera, or an eye, to distinguish small details of an object...

 will be achieved when used in conjunction with a ground-based system of radio-telescopes and interferometrical methods

Very Long Baseline Interferometry

Very Long Baseline Interferometry is a type of astronomical interferometry used in radio astronomy. It allows observations of an object that are made simultaneously by many telescopes to be combined, emulating a telescope with a size equal to the maximum separation between the telescopes.Data...

, operating at wavelengths of 1.35–6.0, 18.0 and 92.0 cm. With its Earth-based companions, it will form a network able to provide detailed images of the universe at 1,000 times the resolution attainable using the Hubble Space Telescope

Hubble Space Telescope

The Hubble Space Telescope is a space telescope that was carried into orbit by a Space Shuttle in 1990 and remains in operation. A 2.4 meter aperture telescope in low Earth orbit, Hubble's four main instruments observe in the near ultraviolet, visible, and near infrared...

. Once in space, the flower-like main dish will open its 27 'petals' within 30 minutes.

At launch the mass of the spacecraft was about 5000 kilograms (11,023.1 lb). It was launched from the Baikonur Cosmodrome

Baikonur Cosmodrome

The Baikonur Cosmodrome , also called Tyuratam, is the world's first and largest operational space launch facility. It is located in the desert steppe of Kazakhstan, about east of the Aral Sea, north of the Syr Darya river, near Tyuratam railway station, at 90 meters above sea level...

 on July 18, 2011 at 6.31 a.m. MSK

Moscow Time

Moscow Time is the time zone for the city of Moscow, Russia and most of western Russia, including Saint Petersburg. It is the second westernmost of the nine time zones of Russia. Moscow Time has been UTC+4 year-round since 27 March 2011....

 by a Zenit-3M

Zenit-3SLB

The Zenit-3SLB or Zenit-3M is a Ukrainian expendable carrier rocket derived from the Zenit-2SLB. It is a member of the Zenit family of rockets, which were designed by the Yuzhnoye Design Bureau...

 launcher with Fregat

Fregat

Fregat is a type of rocket stage developed by NPO Lavochkin in the 1990s. Its main engine is a liquid propellant rocket that uses UDMH and N2O4 as propellants.- Specifications :...

-SB upper stage.

Gallery

Video link

External links

RadioAstron main page

• Traveling space telescope to stretch limits of human knowledge, Published: 18 April, 2011, Russian news network