\<COLOUR 1> LAUNCH VEHICLE: \<COLOUR 0> Vandenberg Air Force Base
\<COLOUR 1> ORBIT: \<COLOUR 0> 888/897 km
\<COLOUR 1> SIZE: \<COLOUR 0> Hexagonal prism, 5.8 metres long, max diameter 4 metres; solar array span 8.5 metres
\<COLOUR 1> WEIGHT: \<COLOUR 0> 2.5 tonnes
\<COLOUR 1> COUNTRY: \<COLOUR 0> USA
\<COLOUR 1> COMMENTS: \<COLOUR 0> COBE (cosmic background explorer) has sensors cooled by liquid helium so that they can pick up the background radiation from the universe; in 1992 analysis of its data excites astronomers when it points to there being 'ripples' in the background radiation, which could have set the universe evolving in the way it has.