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INTEGRAL
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The European astronomical satellite, INTEGRAL, (INTErnational Gamma-Ray Astrophysics Laboratory)
is an astronomical satellite for observing the gamma-ray sky.
It was selected by the science program committee of the European Space Agency (ESA)
as a medium size mission.
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Characteristics
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| Launch Date |
17 October 2002 |
| Launcher |
Proton |
| Launch Site |
Baikonur Cosmodrome |
| Weight |
4 tonnes |
| Inclination |
51.6 deg |
| Perigee |
9.000 km |
| Apogee |
155.000 km |
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Gathering X-Ray waves
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 The INTEGRAL science payload consists
of two main instruments, the spectrometer SPI and the imager IBIS supplemented by two subsidiary
instruments, the X-ray monitor JEM-X and the optical monitoring camera OMC. The two subsidiary
instruments are of great importance as they allow INTEGRAL to observe for the first time a single
astronomical source simultaneously in the optical, X-rays and gamma-rays. Thanks to the technological
improvements since the CGRO and GRANAT satellites the measurements combine an angular resolution and
sensitivity never reached before.
The observation of gamma-rays implies the use of a very special method, due to the fact that gamma-rays,
unlike visible light, cannot be deflected with a glass lens or a mirror. This method uses a pattern of
transparent and opaque elements, the so-called coded mask. The detectors register the shadow of the pattern
which is then used to reconstitute the location of the incoming rays. INTEGRAL's instruments for the high-energy
range (spectrometer, imager and x-ray monitor) resort to the use of the coded mask technique.
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Scientific backround
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The task of Integral, ESA's International Gamma-Ray Astrophysics Laboratory, is to gather
the most energetic radiation that comes from space. The spacecraft was launched October 2002
and will help to solve some of the biggest mysteries in astronomy. Gamma rays are even more powerful
than the X-rays used in medical examinations. Fortunately, the Earth's atmosphere acts as a shield to
protect us from this dangerous cosmic radiation. However this means that gamma rays from space can
only be detected by satellites. Integral is currently the most sensitive gamma-ray observatory ever
launched. It detects radiation from the most violent events far away and from processes that made the
Universe habitable.
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