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Cos-B overview

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ESA's Cos-B, launched 9 August 1975, provided the first complete galactic survey in high-energy gamma-rays. Before this, the gamma-ray Universe had largely been invisible to astronomers. Designed for a 1-2 year life, it operated successfully until April 1982.

Credits: ESA

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Mission

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ESA's first gamma-ray satellite was COS-B. Launched in 1975, it put European astronomers at the forefront of the field. COS-B was followed by the Russian-French mission GRANAT (1989-1998) and NASA's Compton Gamma-ray Observatory (CGRO) (1991-2000). In October 2000, the international High Energy Transient Explorer (HETE-2) satellite was launched, carrying a French gamma-ray telescope and X-ray detectors.

Credits: ESA

Last update: 14 October 2003

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Cos-B factsheet

Observations: Seeing in the gamma-ray wavelengths Gamma-ray detectives close in on 30-year-old mystery A gamma-ray burst bonanza