Today, April 24, 2019, the Spektr-RG spacecraft, created as part of the Russian-German project to explore the Universe, is sent to the Baikonur Cosmodrome.
The Spektr-RG observatory is designed to survey the entire sky in the X-ray range of the electromagnetic spectrum. For this, two oblique-incidence X-ray telescopes, eROSITA and ART-XC, created in Germany and Russia, respectively, will be used.
In fact, Spektr-RG will be engaged in a kind of "population census" of the Universe. With the help of the data obtained, the researchers hope to form a detailed map that will mark all the largest clusters of galaxies - about 100 thousand. In addition, the observatory is expected to register about 3 million supermassive black holes.
The launch of the device is scheduled for June 21 this year. The observatory will be launched in the vicinity of the outer Lagrange point L2 of the Sun-Earth system, at a distance of about 1,5 million kilometers from the Earth.
“By rotating around an axis that roughly corresponds to the direction to the Sun, the Spektra-RG telescopes will be able to conduct a complete survey of the celestial sphere in six months. As a result, over four years of work, scientists will be able to obtain data from eight surveys of the entire sky, ”said Roscosmos.
In general, the service life of the observatory should be at least six and a half years. After the completion of the main four-year program, it is planned to perform point observations of objects in the Universe for two and a half years.
Source: 3dnews.ru