The Granat Observatory

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The Granat Satellite

Granat (“Garnet”) was a Russian dedicated X-ray/gamma ray astronomy mission operated in collaboration with other European countries. Launched on 1 December 1989, Granat operated for almost 9 years. After an initial period of pointed observations, Granat went into survey mode in September 1994

Mission Characteristics

Lifetime

1 Dec 1989–7 Nov 1998

Lifetime

1 Dec 1989–7 Nov 1998

Payload

Instrument	Characteristic	Details
Coded Mask X-ray Telescope (SIGMA)	Energy Range	0.03–1.3 MeV
	Effective Area	800 cm²
	Field of View	5′ × 5′
	Angular Resolution	10′ maximum
	The SIGMA telescope was a collaboration between CESR (Toulouse), CEA (Saclay), and IKI (Moscow). Its imaging capabilities were derived from the association of a coded mask and a position sensitive detector based on the Anger camera principle.
Astronomical Roentgen Telescope Imager (ART-P)	Energy Range	4–60 keV (imaging) 4–100 keV (spectra)
	Effective Area	630 cm² each 2520 cm ² total
	Field of View	1.8° × 1.8° (FWHM)
	Angular Resolution	5′
	Sensitivity	1 mCrab in an 8 hour exposure
	Energy Resolution	25% at 5.9 keV 14% at 59.6 keV
	Time Resolution	4 ms
	The ART-P and ART-S instruments were both the responsibility of the IKI in Moscow. The ART-P telescope consisted of four modules. Each module a position sensitive Multi-Wire Proportional Counter (MWPC) together with a Uniformly Redundant Array (URA) coded mask.
Astronomical Roentgen Telescope Spectrometer (ART-S)	Energy Range	3–100 keV
	Effective Area	625 cm² each, 2400 cm ² total at 10 keV 800 cm² total at 100 keV
	Field of View	2.1° × 2.1° (FWHM)
	Energy Resolution	21% at 5.9 keV 11% at 59.5 keV
	Time Resolution	200 µs
	The ART-P and ART-S instruments were both the responsibility of the IKI in Moscow. Each consisted of a MWPC together with a URA coded mask. The ART-S collimator was mounted with a rocking mechanism to tilt off-source for background measurements.
Wide Angle Telescope for Cosmic Hard X-rays (WATCH)	Energy Range	6–180 keV
	Effective Area	45 cm²
	Field of View	All sky
	Angular Resolution	0.5°
	Energy Resolution	30% at 60 keV (FWHM)
	There were four WATCH instruments, designed by the Danish Space Research Institute, on the Granat observatory starting in January 1990. The instruments could localize bright sources using a Rotation Modulation Collimator. During quiet periods, count rates in 2 energy bands (6–15 keV, 15–180 keV) were accumulated for 4, 8, or 16 s, depending on memory filling. During a burst or transient event, count rates were accumulated with a time resolution of 1 second into 36 energy channels. The WATCH system also flew on the EURECA mission.
Phénomènes Brefs de l’Univers (PHEBUS)	Energy Range	100 keV – 100 MeV
	Effective Area	100 cm² each 600 cm² total
	Field of View	All sky
	Time Resolution	∼100 µs
	The PHEBUS experiment was designed by CESR (Toulouse) to record high energy transient events. It consisted of 2 independent detectors with their associated electronics. Each detector consisted of a BGO crystal 78 mm in diameter by 120 mm thick, surrounded by a plastic anti-coincidence jacket. The 2 detectors were arranged on the spacecraft so as to observe ∼4π steradians. The burst mode was triggered when the count rate in the 0.1–1.5 MeV energy range exceeded the background level by 8 sigma in either 0.25 or 1.0 seconds. There were 116 energy channels.
Téléscope Optique à l'Université de Toulouse pour l'Étude des Sources Optiques Liées aux Sources Gamma (TOURNESOL)	Energy Range	2 keV – 8 MeV
	Field of View	6° × 6° (high energy) 5° × 5° (visible)
	The French TOURNESOL instrument consisted of 4 proportional counters and 2 optical detectors. The instrument was designed to look for optical counterparts of high-energy burst sources, as well as performing spectral analysis of the high-energy events.
Krypton Optical Nuclear Universal Spectrometer (KONUS-B)	Energy Range	10 keV – 8 MeV
Krypton Optical Nuclear Universal Spectrometer (KONUS-B)	The KONUS-B instrument, designed by the Ioffe Physical-Technical Institute in St. Petersburg, consisted of 7 detectors distributed around the spacecraft. They consisted of NaI(Tl) scintillator crystals 200 mm in diameter × 50 mm thick, with a Be entrance window. The side surfaces were protected by a 5 mm thick lead layer. The KONUS-B instrument operated from 11 December 1989 until 20 February 1990. Over that period, the “on” time for the experiment was 27 days. Some 60 solar flares and 19 cosmic gamma-ray bursts were detected.

Energy Range

0.03–1.3 MeV

Effective Area

800 cm²

Field of View

5′ × 5′

Angular Resolution

10′ maximum

The SIGMA telescope was a collaboration between CESR (Toulouse), CEA (Saclay), and IKI (Moscow). Its imaging capabilities were derived from the association of a coded mask and a position sensitive detector based on the Anger camera principle.

Energy Range

4–60 keV (imaging)
4–100 keV (spectra)

Effective Area

630 cm² each
2520 cm ² total

Field of View

1.8° × 1.8° (FWHM)

Angular Resolution

5′

Sensitivity

1 mCrab in an 8 hour exposure

Energy Resolution

25% at 5.9 keV
14% at 59.6 keV

Time Resolution

4 ms

The ART-P and ART-S instruments were both the responsibility of the IKI in Moscow. The ART-P telescope consisted of four modules. Each module a position sensitive Multi-Wire Proportional Counter (MWPC) together with a Uniformly Redundant Array (URA) coded mask.

Energy Range

3–100 keV

Effective Area

625 cm² each, 2400 cm ² total at 10 keV
800 cm² total at 100 keV

Field of View

2.1° × 2.1° (FWHM)

Energy Resolution

21% at 5.9 keV
11% at 59.5 keV

Time Resolution

200 µs

The ART-P and ART-S instruments were both the responsibility of the IKI in Moscow. Each consisted of a MWPC together with a URA coded mask. The ART-S collimator was mounted with a rocking mechanism to tilt off-source for background measurements.

Energy Range

6–180 keV

Effective Area

45 cm²

Field of View

All sky

Angular Resolution

0.5°

Energy Resolution

30% at 60 keV (FWHM)

There were four WATCH instruments, designed by the Danish Space Research Institute, on the Granat observatory starting in January 1990. The instruments could localize bright sources using a Rotation Modulation Collimator. During quiet periods, count rates in 2 energy bands (6–15 keV, 15–180 keV) were accumulated for 4, 8, or 16 s, depending on memory filling. During a burst or transient event, count rates were accumulated with a time resolution of 1 second into 36 energy channels. The WATCH system also flew on the EURECA mission.

Energy Range

100 keV – 100 MeV

Effective Area

100 cm² each
600 cm² total

Field of View

All sky

Time Resolution

∼100 µs

The PHEBUS experiment was designed by CESR (Toulouse) to record high energy transient events. It consisted of 2 independent detectors with their associated electronics. Each detector consisted of a BGO crystal 78 mm in diameter by 120 mm thick, surrounded by a plastic anti-coincidence jacket. The 2 detectors were arranged on the spacecraft so as to observe ∼4π steradians. The burst mode was triggered when the count rate in the 0.1–1.5 MeV energy range exceeded the background level by 8 sigma in either 0.25 or 1.0 seconds. There were 116 energy channels.

Energy Range

2 keV – 8 MeV

Field of View

6° × 6° (high energy)
5° × 5° (visible)

The French TOURNESOL instrument consisted of 4 proportional counters and 2 optical detectors. The instrument was designed to look for optical counterparts of high-energy burst sources, as well as performing spectral analysis of the high-energy events.

Energy Range

10 keV – 8 MeV

The KONUS-B instrument, designed by the Ioffe Physical-Technical Institute in St. Petersburg, consisted of 7 detectors distributed around the spacecraft. They consisted of NaI(Tl) scintillator crystals 200 mm in diameter × 50 mm thick, with a Be entrance window. The side surfaces were protected by a 5 mm thick lead layer. The KONUS-B instrument operated from 11 December 1989 until 20 February 1990. Over that period, the “on” time for the experiment was 27 days. Some 60 solar flares and 19 cosmic gamma-ray bursts were detected.

Science Highlights

A very deep (more than 5 million sec.) imaging of the galactic center region
Discovery of electron-positron annihilation lines from the Galactic “micro-quasar” 1E1740-294 and the X-ray Nova Muscae
Study of spectra and time variability of black hole candidates

NASA | GSFC | Sciences and Exploration

HEASARC

High Energy Astrophysics Science Archive Research Center

The Granat Satellite

Mission Characteristics

Payload

Coded Mask X-ray Telescope (SIGMA)

Astronomical Roentgen Telescope Imager (ART-P)

Astronomical Roentgen Telescope Spectrometer (ART-S)

Wide Angle Telescope for Cosmic Hard X-rays (WATCH)

Phénomènes Brefs de l’Univers (PHEBUS)

Téléscope Optique à l'Université de Toulouse pour l'Étude des Sources Optiques Liées aux Sources Gamma (TOURNESOL)

Krypton Optical Nuclear Universal Spectrometer (KONUS-B)

Science Highlights

Archive

Active Missions

Past Missions

The Granat Satellite

Mission Characteristics

Payload

Coded Mask X-ray Telescope (SIGMA)

Astronomical Roentgen Telescope Imager (ART-P)

Astronomical Roentgen Telescope Spectrometer (ART-S)

Wide Angle Telescope for Cosmic Hard X-rays (WATCH)

Phénomènes Brefs de l’Univers (PHEBUS)

Téléscope Optique à l'Université de Toulouse pour l'Étude des Sources Optiques Liées aux Sources Gamma (TOURNESOL)

Krypton Optical Nuclear Universal Spectrometer (KONUS-B)

Science Highlights

Archive