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| INTEGRAL gives itself more time |
| ESA's International Gamma-Ray Astrophysics Laboratory INTEGRAL is giving itself more time to be ready for launch. Lift-off on a Russian Proton launcher was previously envisaged in April 2002. |
| Date: 14 Jun 2001 |
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| Marathon selection process for the INTEGRAL mission |
| Given the exceptionally high over-subscription to the first INTEGRAL call for observation proposals, the mission's Time Allocation Committee (TAC) faced a daunting task when it met between 14-18 May to start the selection process. |
| Date: 23 May 2001 |
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| INTEGRAL's SPI sees stars after a hefty dose of gamma rays |
| Calibration is a key moment in the life of a space telescope before launch. Those who have designed and built the instrument and the future users must precisely measure its performance before it starts to examine the Universe. Such calibrations can require considerable effort, and the use of unique installations. That has been the case for INTEGRAL's gamma-ray spectrometer SPI, which has just completed its calibration at a test centre belonging to France's Atomic Energy Commission (CEA). |
| Date: 07 May 2001 |
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| Chilly test for INTEGRAL's spectrometer |
| The centre of attention was not a fashion model. But, as in a haute-couture fashion house, it was being dressed for the big day. Nimble fingers cut and trimmed, and dazzling gold-coloured material was delicately pinned and attached. |
| Date: 15 Mar 2001 |
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| Astronomers scramble to use INTEGRAL |
| The Call for Proposals to use guest observer time on ESA's forthcoming gamma-ray observatory
has resulted in 291 individual proposals. These represent approximately 323 million seconds - more
than 10 years - of observing time! This is 19 times greater than all the open time available during the
first half of the nominal two-year mission. |
| Date: 01 Mar 2001 |
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| INTEGRAL project forges ahead despite problems |
| With 460 days before the launch set for April next year, members of
the INTEGRAL Science Working Team have met to review all issues of
ESA's gamma-ray mission. Integration of the spacecraft is proceeding
at Alenia, construction of the Proton rocket has started in Russia
and the science teams with instruments still to deliver are doing
their utmost to overcome development difficulties and meet the
schedule. |
| Date: 22 Jan 2001 |
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| Integral Announcement of Opportunity |
| Gamma-ray astronomers and astrophysicists the world over are today being solicited for
Guest Observer proposals using ESA's Integral observatory. The European Space Agency
officially issued its Announcement of Opportunity (AO-1) on 1st November. |
| Date: 07 Nov 2000 |
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| Olé! Spain delivers Integral's first science instrument |
| At a formal handover in Madrid on 10 October, ESA's Integral project has taken delivery the flight-model of the gamma-ray observatory's Optical Monitor Camera (OMC) from Spain's Instituto Nacional de Técnica Aerospacial (INTA). In two weeks, prime contractor Alenia will start installing the camera on the spacecraft. Integral's Proton launch is set for April 2002. |
| Date: 11 Oct 2000 |
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| Integral launch in April 2002 |
| Following a detailed status review of ESAs gamma-ray observatory a new launch date has been selected. A Russian Proton rocket will put Integral into orbit on 22 April 2002.
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| Date: 19 Apr 2000 |
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| Observing with Integral |
| More than 80 astrophysicists from all over
the world travelled to the small town of Les Diablerets
in the Swiss Alps to learn how to use ESA's Integral
satellite, once it is in orbit, to gather powerful
gamma-radiation coming from distant objects in the
Universe. A gamma-ray telescope is very different from
a normal optical telescope. Thus special data analysis
is needed to transform the signals measured by the
scientific instruments on board Integral to fundamental
physical units and images that describe the properties
of the radiation entering the telescope |
| Date: 03 Apr 2000 |
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| Integral ground control system successfully tested |
| How do you know that a satellite in space does exactly what you want it to do? You can't have a close look at the spacecraft once it has been launched. A thorough and systematic series of tests must therefore be carried out before launch to make sure that the commands will have the desired effect and that the data sent by the satellite are correctly interpreted. This is what experts at the European Space Operations Centre (ESOC) at Darmstadt are now doing with Integral, ESA's gamma-ray observatory. |
| Date: 22 Mar 2000 |
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| Integral and Rosetta on show in Turin |
| In Turin today the Italian satellite builder Alenia Aerospazio presented two ESA spacecraft that will explore the near and far Universe: Integral, the gamma-ray observatory, will gather the most energetic radiation coming from distant objects. Rosetta, the comet chaser, will bring new insights in the formation of our solar system. |
| Date: 24 Nov 1999 |
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| Signature of the Launcher Adaptation Contract for Integral |
| The contract for the Proton Launcher Adaptation for Integral was signed today at the ESA Permanent Mission in Moscow. This followed the successful completion of a lengthy approval process for the Arrangement between ESA and Russia on Cooperation on the Integral Project. |
| Date: 14 Oct 1999 |
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| Russian launcher for Integral |
| Russian Prime-Minister Vladimir Putin has signed a
governmental letter approving an arrangement between the European Space
Agency (ESA) and the Russian Space Agency (RSA). According to the
arrangement a Proton launcher will put ESA9s Integral, the International
Gamma-Ray
Astrophysics Laboratory, into orbit. The spacecraft will be launched in 2001
from Baikonur, Kazakhstan.
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| Date: 24 Sep 1999 |
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| Integral Engineering Model test campaign successfully completed |
| On 23 August 1999 ESA's new gamma-ray observatory, Integral, has passed a most important milestone in its development. The Engineering Model tests, which lasted more than a year and which were to verify that all satellite subsystems and instruments interface well and function as a system, were successfully completed. |
| Date: 27 Aug 1999 |
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| Integral at the Swiss Museum of Transport and Communication |
| Europe's most diverse Museum of Transport and Communication in Lucerne, Switzerland opened a new space travel exhibition. In the Cosmorama visitors can experience life in space, but they also learn more about future science missions like Integral, the International Gamma-Ray Astrophysics Laboratory to be launched by the European Space Agency in 2001. |
| Date: 18 Aug 1999 |
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| Integral - a truly international mission |
| To gather the most energetic radiation that comes from space will be the task of Integral, ESA's International Gamma-Ray Astrophysics Laboratory. The spacecraft is scheduled for launch in
September 2001 and will help to solve some of the biggest mysteries in astronomy. A new overview of the mission is today published on this web page.
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| Date: 05 Jul 1999 |
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| How to build a satellite - ESA's Integral |
| To have a look at ESA's Integral spacecraft you have to travel to Turin,
Italy. At Alenia Aerospazio engineers are running electrical tests on the
gamma-ray observatory that will be launched in 2001.
|
| Date: 28 May 1999 |
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| New Integral launch date |
| Following a series of payload reviews in January 1999, and subsequent mission analysis by ESA's operations centre (ESOC) in Darmstadt, the Integral launch is now planned for 11 September 2001.
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| Date: 26 Mar 1999 |
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| The Mysteries of the Extreme Universe |
| Flares from the far reaches of the Universe, giant black holes in the
heart of galaxies, clouds of radioactive material in our Milky Way,
extremely dense remnants of dead stars and starquakes on bizarre,
magnetised objects: the list of phenomena that emit powerful gamma rays
is long and full of mysteries. |
| Date: 17 Sep 1998 |
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