SafekipediaOrbiting Solar Observatory
Adapted from Wikipedia · Adventurer experience
The Orbiting Solar Observatory (abbreviated OSO) Program was a series of American space telescopes made to study the Sun. These special telescopes flew above Earth to look at the Sun in ways we can't see with our eyes.
Eight of these observatories were sent into low Earth orbit by NASA between 1962 and 1975, using Delta rockets. Their big job was to watch the Sun's 11-year sun spot cycle using UV and X-ray light.
The first seven observatories were built by Ball Aerospace in Boulder, Colorado. The last one, OSO 8, was built by Hughes Space and Communications Company in Culver City, California. These observatories helped scientists learn a lot about our Sun and its effects on Earth.
History
Nancy Roman helped start the Orbiting Solar Observatory program from 1961 to 1963.
These spacecraft had two main parts. One part, called the "Wheel," spun to keep the spacecraft steady. The other part, called the "Sail," moved to point at the Sun. The Sail held tools to study the Sun and solar power cells to keep the spacecraft running. A special part called a bearing connected the Wheel and the Sail, and it had to work well for many months in space.
OSO 1 (OSO A) launched on March 7, 1962.
OSO B had problems before it could launch. On April 14, 1964, a mistake caused part of the rocket to start early while the satellite was still on the ground at Cape Canaveral. The satellite was fixed and launched ten months later on February 3, 1965, and was called OSO 2 (OSO B2).
OSO C never reached space. It launched on August 25, 1965, but a problem with the rocket caused it to fall back and burn up in the atmosphere.
OSO 3 (OSO E1) launched on March 8, 1967.
List of OSO telescopes
Eight OSO telescopes were launched between 1962 and 1975.
| Designation | Launch Date | Re-entry date | Notable results |
|---|---|---|---|
| OSO 1 (OSO A) | 7 March 1962 | 7 October 1981 | |
| OSO 2 (OSO B2) | 3 February 1965 | 8 August 1989 | |
| OSO 3 (OSO E1) | 8 March 1967 | 4 April 1982 | Observed solar flares from the Sun, as well as a flare from Scorpius X-1 |
| OSO 4 (OSO D) | 18 October 1967 | 14 June 1982 | |
| OSO 5 (OSO F) | 22 January 1969 | 2 April 1984 | Measured diffuse background X-ray radiation from 14-200 keV |
| OSO 6 (OSO G) | 9 August 1969 | 7 March 1981 | Observed three instances of hard X-ray coincidences with gamma ray bursts. |
| OSO 7 (OSO H) | 29 September 1971 | 8 July 1974 | Observed solar flares in the gamma ray spectrum. Collected data allowed for identification of Vela X-1 as a High-mass X-ray binary. |
| OSO 8 (OSO I) | 21 June 1975 | 8 July 1986 | Found an iron emission line in the X-ray spectrum of a galaxy cluster. |
Further developments
The Advanced Orbiting Solar Observatory (AOSO) program started in the mid-1960s. It was meant to be a satellite that orbits over the poles to watch the Sun and its surroundings. It would use tools to detect x-rays and visible light. But because of money problems, the AOSO program stopped in 1965. It was replaced by the OSO-I, OSO-J, and OSO-K satellites. Only OSO-I, later called OSO 8, was launched.
Another satellite using the Orbiting Solar Observatory design was the Solwind. It was launched on February 24, 1979, and run by the DoD Space Test Program. Sadly, it was destroyed on September 13, 1985 during a missile test.
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