Orbiting Solar Observatory

Orbiting Solar Observatory ( OSO ) was the name of a series of nine NASA satellites to explore the sun, of which 1962-1975 eight were successfully launched on Delta rocket. Their take-off mass and scientific equipment increased with the introduction of ever more powerful Delta rocket. Their primary task was to observe the Sun over an entire sunspot cycle of about 11 years duration in the UV and X-rays.

OSO structure of 1 to 6 and C

The satellite OSO 1 to 6 ( of failed satellite launched kept the letters from the project phase ) had the same structure and consisted of a flat, octagonal prism. From this went in the transverse plane to three at 120 ° staggered legs, at the end of each a spherical pressure gas tank was with small nozzles which were used to control the twist of the main body. The entire main body, with the arms, rotated to stabilize around its longitudinal axis. On the top of the cylinder was a crosswise over the entire width of the cylinder continuous semicircular plate, which was not rotated and are directed towards the sun. It bore the solar cells and, later in its center, which aimed at the sun instruments.

Structure of OSO 7

OSO 7 was an upgraded model, which retained the basic structure of the previous OSO satellites, but was significantly larger so that more experiments could be accommodated. As the only satellite of the OSO series he had no arm for spin control.

Structure of OSO 8

OSO 8 was with a much stronger Delta rocket (Delta 1910) started as the previous satellites. These missiles version also presented significantly more space for the payload available. OSO 8 was therefore not only more difficult, but also much larger than its predecessors.

OSO 8 consisted of a flat cylinder. From this went in the transverse plane to three at 120 ° staggered legs, at the end of which was in each case a box with small steering jets. The entire cylinder with the arms rotated to stabilize around its longitudinal axis. On the top of the cylinder was a over the width of the cylinder out going, rectangular, sail -shaped shield, which is much higher than it is wide. It rotated and was not always aligned with the sun. It bore the solar cells and down in the midst of the looking at the sun instruments.

Results

The OSO satellites discovered, inter alia, the coronal holes of the Sun, which are particularly strong sources of the solar wind. While the satellites were on the night side of the earth, they were used for the observation of galaxies and double stars.