Imagine the Universe!

The Small Astronomy Satellite 2 (SAS-2)


photo of SAS-2
The second NASA Small Astronomy Satellite (SAS-2) was dedicated to gamma-ray astronomy in the energy range above 35 MeV. SAS-2 was launched on 1972 November 15 and began operations on 1972 November 19. On 1973 June 8, a failure of the low-voltage power supply ended the collection of data.

Mission Characteristics

* Lifetime : 19 November 1972 - 8 June 1973
* Energy Range : 20 MeV - 1 GeV
* Payload :
  • 32-level wire spark-chamber aligned with satellite spin axis (20 MeV-1 GeV), eff. area 540 cm2
* Science Highlights:
  • The first detailed look at the gamma-ray sky.
  • Established the high energy component of diffuse celestial radiation.
  • Correlated the gamma-ray background with galactic structural features.
* Archive : Raw data, image and exposure maps

[About SAS-2] (http://heasarc.gsfc.nasa.gov/docs/sas2/sas2_about.html) [Archive] (http://heasarc.gsfc.nasa.gov/docs/sas2/archive/sas2_archive.html) [Gallery] (http://heasarc.gsfc.nasa.gov/docs/sas2/sas2_images.html) [Publications] (http://heasarc.gsfc.nasa.gov/docs/sas2/bib/sas2_biblio.html)
Imagine the Universe is a service of the High Energy Astrophysics Science Archive Research Center (HEASARC), Dr. Nicholas White (Director), within the Laboratory for High Energy Astrophysics at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center.

The Imagine Team
Project Leader: Dr. Jim Lochner
All material on this site has been created and updated between 1997-2004.

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