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Issue A&A
Volume 411, Number 1, November III 2003
Special letters issue on: first science with integral
Page(s) L7 - L17
Section Letters
DOI http://dx.doi.org/10.1051/0004-6361:20031173



A&A 411, L7-L17 (2003)
DOI: 10.1051/0004-6361:20031173

Letter

The INTEGRAL spacecraft - in-orbit performance

P. L. Jensen1, K. Clausen1, C. Cassi2, F. Ravera2, G. Janin3, C. Winkler4 and R. Much4

1  ESA-ESTEC, Directorate of Scientific Programmes, Keplerlaan 1, 2201 AZ Noordwijk, The Netherlands
2  Alenia Spazio, Strada Antica di Collegno 253, 10146 Torino, Italy
3  ESA-ESOC, Directorate of Technical and Operational Support, Robert-Bosch Str. 5, 64293 Darmstadt, Germany
4  ESA-ESTEC, Research and Scientific Support Department, Keplerlaan 1, 2201 AZ Noordwijk, The Netherlands

(Received 16 July 2003 / Accepted 31 July 2003 )

Abstract
The INTEGRAL satellite was successfully launched from Baikonur on 17 October, 2002. INTEGRAL is an observatory for gamma-ray astronomy. The goals are to provide unprecedented high resolution imaging capability for unambiguous identification of gamma ray sources and high energy resolution for line spectroscopy. This paper summarises the actual orbital evolution based on the first 8 months in orbit and provides a status of the on-board limiting life resources. The paper describes the measured in-orbit performance of the INTEGRAL satellite and summarizes the applicable operational constraints for the science user community.


Key words: gamma-ray astronomy -- space observatory

Offprint request: P. L. Jensen




© ESO 2003


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