Exosat
The European X-ray Observatory Satellite

The Exosat satellite was operational from May 1983 until April 1986 and in that time made 1780 observations in the X-ray BBBB band of most classes of astronomical object. The payload consisted of three instruments that produced spectra, images and light curves in various energy bands. Two Low-Energy Imaging Telescopes (LEITs), each with a channel-multiplier array at their focus, were sensitive over the energy range 0.05 - 2 keV and used passband filters to obtain coarse spectral information. The insertion of a diffraction grating into the beam gave high-resolution spectra capable of resolving emission-line complexes. These telescopes provided the first detailed observations in the EUV (100 - 300 Å). The Medium-Energy (ME) experiment consisted of an array of proportional counters with a total area of 1600 cm² that gave moderate spectral resolution in the 1 - 50 keV band. A factor of two better spectral resolution over the 2 - 20 keV band was provided by a Gas-Scintillation Proportional Counter (GSPC) with a collecting area of 100 cm².

The EXOSAT Mission Archive Area at ESA   The EXOSAT Medium Energy Slew-Survey