The ROSAT Launch
ROSAT was originally scheduled to be launched via the Space Shuttle, but the Challenger accident on 28 January, 1986, brought significant changes to the shuttle design and consequently a delay in the launch date set for ROSAT. Thus, in 1987 December, a decision was made to launch ROSAT with an expendable Delta-II launch vehicle, rather than the Space Shuttle. ROSAT was finally launched into low Earth orbit from Cape Canaveral on 1 June, 1990, and turned off on 12 February, 1999 after the last instrument was no longer functioning.
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Curator:
HEASARC Guest Observer Facility
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