Fact Sheet

Cos-B was ESA's first satellite dedicated to a single experiment. Its scientific mission was to study in detail the sources of extra-terrestrial gamma radiation at energies above about 30 MeV. The originally foreseen duration of the mission was two years, but in fact Cos-B functioned successfully for 6 years and 8 months. During this time an extensive survey of the Galaxy was made in the energy range 50 MeV to 5 GeV.

News

News

ESA's first satellite: COS-B
7 August 2015This weekend sees the 40th anniversary of the launch of COS-B, the first satellite to be launched under the banner of the newly created European Space Agency, on 9 August 1975.

Multimedia

Multimedia

Artist's impression of COS-B
2 November 2004Artist's impression of COS-B
Milky Way in Gamma Rays
15 December 1979Milky Way in Gamma Rays
Gamma Ray Emissivity Distribution
15 December 1989Gamma Ray Emmisivity Distribution
Cos-B Orbit
1 January 2003Cos-B Orbit
28-Mar-2024 22:46 UT

ShortUrl Portlet

Shortcut URL

https://sci.esa.int/cos-b