The Russian astrophysical observatory Spektr-RG will be able to function longer than the warranty period. Fuel reserves will last for several years, according to Anatoly Petrukovich, Director of the Space Research Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences.
Its warranty period is 6.5 years. The device is in good condition. One of the main factors limiting its lifespan is the amount of fuel on board, which is needed for orbit corrections.
He noted that the latest trajectory corrections were carried out successfully, which allowed accumulating a fuel reserve sufficient to continue the operation of the device for several years. The telescope is in good condition.
The Spektr-RG spacecraft was launched on July 13, 2019, from the Baikonur Cosmodrome. This device was created with the participation of Germany as part of the Russian Federal Space Program commissioned by the Russian Academy of Sciences.
The observatory is equipped with two X-ray telescopes: ART-XC (IKI RAS, Russia) and eROSITA (MPG, Germany). These telescopes operate on the principle of grazing-incidence X-ray optics. They are installed on the Navigator space platform (NPO Lavochkin, Russia), which has been adapted for the project.
The mission's objective is to create a map of the entire celestial space in two X-ray ranges that have not previously been studied with such precision.
As a reminder, Spektr-RG is the most distant operating Russian satellite from Earth. It is located in the vicinity of the Lagrange point L2, at a distance of 1.5 million kilometers from our planet. This satellite has already made a significant contribution to the development of Russian and world science.
Earlier, www1.ru reported that Russia is preparing to launch new Ionosfera-M satellites. They are designed to monitor the geophysical environment or "space weather."
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