The Proton launch vehicle with the Spektr-RG observatory was delivered to Site 81 of the Baikonur Cosmodrome on Tuesday, July 9. The Federal (non-ILS) launch with the DM-03 upper stage will take place on July 12, 2019.

Spektr-RG is a Russian project with German participation aimed at creating an orbital astrophysical observatory designed to study the universe in the X-ray wavelength range. It involves the creation of a national observatory of high-energy astrophysics, continuing the sequence of astrophysical satellites Astron and Granat developed by NPO Lavochkin. The device is built on the modular principle with orientation and stabilization characteristics.

Spektr-RG will be launched in the vicinity of the Lagrange point L2 of the Sun-Earth system. Astrophysical studies are planned for 6.5 years, of which 4 years will be in the mode of scanning the starry sky, and 2.5 years in the mode of spot observation of objects in the universe at the request of the world scientific community.

Source: Roscosmos