Astron (spacecraft)

Astron was a Soviet Space Telescope. Its field of application were ultraviolet and x-rays. He was shot on 23 March 1983, a Proton rocket into orbit. Its highly elliptical orbit as Highly - Elliptical Orbit Satellite ( HEO ) ensured that Astron was 90 % of the time outside the Earth's shadow and the radiation belt. The satellite was 6 meters long, had a total mass of 3,500 kg, and was based on the design of the Venera space probes. Astron was operated for six years and was at one time the largest ultraviolet telescope in space.