ROSAT

<p>ROSAT (short for Röntgensatellit; in German X-rays are called Röntgenstrahlen, in honour of <a href="/facts/Wilhelm_R%25C3%25B6ntgen/xQ9DzpWm">Wilhelm Röntgen</a>) was a <a href="/facts/German_Aerospace_Center/nIeKtKqd">German Aerospace Center</a>-led satellite <a href="/facts/X-ray_telescope/FDpF14TH">X-ray telescope</a>, with instruments built by <a href="/facts/West_Germany/oCydk787">West Germany</a>, the United Kingdom and the United States. It was launched on 1 June 1990, on a <a href="/facts/Delta_II/GoBa3Qch">Delta II</a> rocket from <a href="/facts/Cape_Canaveral/DsFRGqWm">Cape Canaveral</a>, on what was initially designed as an 18-month mission, with provision for up to five years of operation. ROSAT operated for over eight years, finally shutting down on 12 February 1999.
</p><p>In February 2011, it was reported that the 2,400 kg (5,291 lb) satellite was unlikely to burn up entirely while re-entering the Earth's atmosphere due to the large amount of ceramics and glass used in construction. Parts as heavy as 400 kg (882 lb) could impact the surface. ROSAT eventually <a href="/facts/Re-entry/p7TMk9sa">re-entered</a> the Earth's atmosphere on 23 October 2011 over the <a href="/facts/Bay_of_Bengal/xqKAj4bJ">Bay of Bengal</a>.
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ROSAT open-in-new

ROSAT