0000000000256108
AUTHOR
S. Re
The X-ray gas scintillation spectrometer experiment on the first spacelab flight
The First Spacelab mission, launched on Space ShuttleFlight STS-9 in November 1983 carried a multidisciplinary payload which was intended to demonstrate that valuable scientific results can be achieved from such short duration missions. The payload complement included a spectrometer to undertake observations of the brighter cosmic X-ray sources. The primary scientific objectives of this experiment were the study of detailed spectral features in cosmic X-ray sources and their associated temporal variations over a wide energy range from about 2 up to 30 keV. The instrument based on the gas scintillation proportional counter had an effective area of some 180 cm2 with an energy resolution of ∼9…
The X-ray Facility at LAX in Palermo
A description is given of the X-ray facility installed at LAX (Laboratorio per Sperimentazioni con Radiazioni X), jointly operated in Palermo by the DEAF (Department of Energy and Physics Applications) of the University of Palermo and the IFCAT (Institute of Cosmic Physics and Informatics) of the Italian National Research Council. The X-rays are produced by bombarding a target with energized electrons up to 60 keV. Depending on the material of the target, characteristic fluorescence lines as well as continuous bremsstrahlung is emitted. The X-ray beam has an operational energy range of 0,1–25 keV with a flux of 1010–1012 photons/sr · s; the beam, collimated on a length of 10,5 m, has a diam…
The Gas Scintillation Proportional Counter on EXOSAT
The inclusion of a gas scintillation proportional counter (GSPC) within the EXOSAT payload complement significantly improves the spectroscopic capability of the mission. This broad-band medium energy spectrometer used in conjunction with the large area proportioni counter array (ME) should provide additional spectroscopic details on strong X-ray sources at photon energies above ~ 2 keV. The novel type of detector has an energy resolution at least a factor of two better than the ME experiment over a similar bandwidth (2 – 40 keV).