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The RadioAstron satellite, Spektr-R, was launched 7 years ago
this month. The satellite was placed in a ~9 day orbit around the Earth
-- which takes it most of the way to the moon's orbit. The fact that
the satellite comes close to the moon on occasions perturbs the
satellite's orbit, with the apogee and perigee heights changing with
time. The RadioAstron satellite can participate in space VLBI
observations in the 327 MHz, 1.6 GHz, 4.8 GHz and 22 GHz bands. The
1.6 GHz receiver on the satellite was designed by the CSIRO Division
of Radiophysics (the predecessor to ATNF) with the support of CSIRO
Office of Space Science and Applications (COSSA) and manufactured by
British Aerospace Australia, with the low-noise amplifier built by
Mitec Ltd Australia. The image above shows Dave Jauncey, former
co-chair of the RadioAstron International Science Council, in
front of the Spektr-R telescope as it underwent deployment tests prior
to its launch in 2011. (Image credit: Carl Gwinn)
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