Granat

Garnet (Russian Гранат ) was a Soviet- Russian X-ray satellite, which was created as a joint effort between the Soviet Union and France. The 5 -ton satellite was launched on 1 December 1989 by a Proton rocket from the Baikonur spaceport in an eccentric × 2,000 200,000 km high orbit with an inclination of 51.6 °. The circulation time was four days.

The satellite worked for almost ten years, 1989-1998, spin stabilized since 1994. The activity ended on 27 November 1998. Garnet had four main instruments. These were the native of France X-ray telescope called Sigma, which worked in a range between 30 and 1000 keV, the Russian telescope type -P, the monitoring device called the Watch and the gamma ray detector Phebus.

Within four years garnet examined many galaxies and receivable X-rays, which are beyond our galaxy. Thereafter, it was used for further testing of other objects. In addition, garnet made ​​unique shots of our galaxy center, the Milky Way, as well as promising candidates for black holes.