The High Energy Astronomy Observatory Program was a NASA program of the late 1970s and early 1980s that included a series of three large low-Earth-orbiting spacecraft for X-ray and Gamma-Ray astronomy and Cosmic-Ray investigations. After launch, they were denoted HEAO 1, HEAO 2 (also known as The Einstein Observatory), and HEAO 3, respectively. The first of NASA's three High Energy Astronomy Observatories HEAO 1, launched August 12 1977 aboard an Atlas rocket with a Centaur upper stage operated Einstein Observatory (HEAO-2 was the first fully imaging X-ray Telescope put into space and the second of NASA 's three High Energy Astrophysical Observatories Einstein Observatory (HEAO-2 was the first fully imaging X-ray Telescope put into space and the second of NASA 's three High Energy Astrophysical Observatories The last of NASA's three High Energy Astronomy Observatories, HEAO 3 was launched 20 September 1979 on an Atlas-Centaur launch The large (~3000 kg) spacecraft were 3-axis stabilized to arc-minute accuracy, with fixed solar panels. All were launched from Cape Canaveral on Atlas/Centaur SLV-3D lunch vehicles into near-circular orbits with initial altitudes slightly above 500 km.

Contents 1 HEAO 1 2 HEAO 2 A/K/A Einstein Observatory 3 HEAO 3 4 Program 5 See also 6 Reference

HEAO 1

HEAO 1, launched August 12, 1977, was a sky survey mission that included four large X-ray and gamma-ray astronomy instruments, known as A1, A2, A3, and A4, respectively. The first of NASA's three High Energy Astronomy Observatories HEAO 1, launched August 12 1977 aboard an Atlas rocket with a Centaur upper stage operated Inclination was about 22. 7 degrees. It re-entered 15 March, 1979.

• The A1, or Large-Area Sky Survey (LASS) instrument, was managed by by the Naval Research Laboratory and used large proportional counters to cover the 0. The United States Naval Research Laboratory (NRL is the corporate research laboratory for the United States Navy and the United States Marine Corps and conducts a 25 to 25 keV energy range.

• The A2, or Cosmic X-ray Experiment (CXE), from the Goddard Space Flight Center, covered the 2-60 keV energy range with high spatial and spectral resolution. The Goddard Space Flight Center ( GSFC) is a major NASA space research laboratory established on May 1, 1959 as NASA's first space flight

• The A3, or Modulation Collimator (MC) instrument, provided high-precision positions of X-ray sources, accurate enough to permit follow-up observations to identify optical and radio counterparts. It was provided by the Center for Astrophysics (Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory and the Harvard College Observatory, SAO/HCO). The Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics (CfA is arguably the largest and most diverse astrophysical institution in the world where scientists carry out a broad program of research The Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory (SAO is a "research institute" of the Smithsonian Institution headquartered in Cambridge Massachusetts, The Harvard College Observatory (or HCO is an institution managing a complex of buildings and multiple instruments used for astronomical research by the Department of Astronomy

• The A4, Hard X-ray / Low Energy Gamma-ray experiment, used scintillation counters to cover the energy range from about about 20 keV to 10 MeV. A scintillation counter measures Ionizing radiation. The Sensor, called a Scintillator, consists of a transparent Crystal, usually phosphor It was provided and managed by the University of California at San Diego, in collaboration with MIT.

HEAO 2 A/K/A Einstein Observatory

HEAO 2, more commonly known as the Einstein Observatory, launched 13 November, 1978 into a 23. Einstein Observatory (HEAO-2 was the first fully imaging X-ray Telescope put into space and the second of NASA 's three High Energy Astrophysical Observatories Einstein Observatory (HEAO-2 was the first fully imaging X-ray Telescope put into space and the second of NASA 's three High Energy Astrophysical Observatories 5 deg inclination orbit, carried a single large grazing-incidence focusing X-ray telescope, providing unprecedented levels of sensitivity (hundreds of times better than previously achieved) and arc-second angular resolution for pointed observations of known objects, and operated over the 0. 2 to 3. 5 keV energy range. A suite of four focal plane instruments were provided:

• HRI, or High Resolution Imaging camera, 0. 15-3 keV.
• IPC, or Imaging Proportional Counter, 0. 4 to 4 keV.
• SSS, or Solid State Spectrometer, 0. 5 to 4. 5 keV.
• FPCS, or Bragg Focal Plane Crystal Spectrometer,

as well as a 1-20 keV Monitor Proportional Counter (MPC), a Broad Band Filter Spectrometer (BBFS), and an objective grating spectrometer (OGS). The spacecraft re-entered 25 March, 1982.

HEAO 3

HEAO 3, launched on 20 September 1979 into a 43. The last of NASA's three High Energy Astronomy Observatories, HEAO 3 was launched 20 September 1979 on an Atlas-Centaur launch 6-degree inclination orbit, carried three experiments, known as C1, C2, and C3. The first was a cryogenically cooled germanium (Ge) high-resolution gamma-ray spectrometer, while the C2 and C3 experiments were large cosmic-ray instruments. A spectrometer is an Optical instrument used to measure properties of Light over a specific portion of the Electromagnetic spectrum, typically used For the 1962 Bruce Conner film see Cosmic Ray (film Cosmic rays are energetic particles originating from space that impinge on Re-entry was 7 December, 1981.

Program

The experiment designations A1, A2, A3, A4, for HEAO A, thru C1, C2, C3 for HEAO C, were most common before launch, but also often appear in the later scientific literature. The first of NASA's three High Energy Astronomy Observatories HEAO 1, launched August 12 1977 aboard an Atlas rocket with a Centaur upper stage operated The last of NASA's three High Energy Astronomy Observatories, HEAO 3 was launched 20 September 1979 on an Atlas-Centaur launch The overall HEAO program was managed out of NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, AL. NASA Program Manager was Mr. Richard E. Halpern; NASA Program Scientist was Dr. Albert G. Opp. Total program cost was roughly $250 million^[1].

See also

• HEAO 1
• HEAO 2
• HEAO 3

Reference

1. ^ HEAO. The first of NASA's three High Energy Astronomy Observatories HEAO 1, launched August 12 1977 aboard an Atlas rocket with a Centaur upper stage operated Einstein Observatory (HEAO-2 was the first fully imaging X-ray Telescope put into space and the second of NASA 's three High Energy Astrophysical Observatories The last of NASA's three High Energy Astronomy Observatories, HEAO 3 was launched 20 September 1979 on an Atlas-Centaur launch

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