Editing ROSAT

{{Short description|Satellite X-ray telescope}}
{{about|the X-ray telecope ROSAT|the Roman Catholic bishop|Adalberto Arturo Rosat}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2019}}
{{Infobox spaceflight
| name               = Röntgensatellit
| names_list         = ROSAT

<!--image of the spacecraft/mission-->| image              = Delta 6920-10 launch with ROSAT.jpg
| image_caption      = Launch of the ROSAT in [[Cape Canaveral]], [[Florida]].
| image_alt          = <!--image alt text-->
| image_size         = <!--include px/em; defaults to 220px-->

<!--Basic details-->| mission_type       = Space Telescope
| operator           = [[German Aerospace Center|DLR]] / [[NASA]]
| Harvard_designation = <!--spacecraft launched 1962 and earlier only (e.g. 1957 Alpha 2)-->
| COSPAR_ID          = 1990-049A
| SATCAT             = 20638
| website            = {{URL|http://www.dlr.de/en/rosat}}
| mission_duration   = 8 years and 8 months
| distance_travelled = <!--How far the spacecraft travelled (if known)-->
| orbits_completed   = <!--number of times the spacecraft orbited the Earth - see below for spacecraft beyond Earth orbit-->
| suborbital_range   = <!--downrange distance reached if spacecraft did not enter orbit-->
| suborbital_apogee  = <!--altitude reached if spacecraft did not enter orbit-->

<!--Spacecraft properties-->| spacecraft         = <!--Spacecraft name/serial number (e.g. Space Shuttle ''Discovery'', Apollo CM-118), etc-->
| spacecraft_type    = <!--e.g. GPS Block II, Kobalt-M, US-K, etc-->
| spacecraft_bus     = <!--e.g. A2100M, Star-2, etc-->
| manufacturer       = <!--company or companies who built the satellite-->
| launch_mass        = {{convert|2421|kg}}
| BOL_mass           = <!--spacecraft mass in orbit at beginning of operational life, after LEOP phase-->
| landing_mass       = <!--Mass after landing (recovered spacecraft only)-->
| dry_mass           = <!--spacecraft mass in orbit without fuel-->
| payload_mass       = <!--Mass of cargo carried by spacecraft (e.g. for Space Shuttle), or total mass of instrumentation/equipment/experiments for mission-->
| dimensions         = 
| power              = <!--end-of-life power, in watts-->

<!--Expedition details-->| space_station      = <!--space station the expedition occurred aboard-->
| start_date         = <!--date the crew took command of the station-->
| end_date           = <!--date the crew ceased command of the station-->
| arrival_craft      = <!--spacecraft the crew arrived aboard-->
| departure_craft    = <!--spacecraft the crew departed aboard-->

<!--Crew details-->| crew_size          = <!--number of astronauts/cosmonauts aboard the spacecraft-->
| crew_members       = <!--crew who launched AND landed aboard the spacecraft-->
| crew_launching     = <!--crew who only launched aboard the spacecraft-->
| crew_landing       = <!--crew who only landed aboard the spacecraft-->
| crew_callsign      = <!--spacecraft's callsign-->
| crew_expedition    = <!--space station expedition(s) the mission was in support of, do NOT use if the mission is an expedition itself-->
| crew_EVAs          = <!--number of EVAs conducted during the mission-->
| crew_EVA_duration  = <!--time spent on EVA-->
| crew_photo         = <!--omit the "file" prefix-->
| crew_photo_alt     = <!--alt text for image-->
| crew_photo_caption = <!--image caption-->
| crew_photo_size    = <!--defaults to 220px-->

<!--Launch details-->| launch_date        = {{start date|df=yes|1990|06|01|21|48|00|7=Z}}
| launch_rocket      = [[Delta II]] 6920-10
| launch_site        = [[Cape Canaveral Air Force Station|Cape Canaveral]] [[Cape Canaveral Air Force Station Space Launch Complex 17|LC-17A]]
| launch_contractor  = <!--organisation(s) that conducted the launch (e.g. United Launch Alliance, Arianespace, etc)-->
| deployment_from    = <!--place where deployed from-->
| deployment_date    = <!--date deployed-->
| entered_service    = <!--date on which the spacecraft entered service, if it did not do so immediately after launch-->
<!-- * - e.g. Proton-M/Briz-M not Proton-M, but Titan IV(401)A not Titan IV(401)A-Centaur-->

<!--end of mission-->| disposal_type      = <!--Whether the spacecraft was deorbited, decommissioned, placed in a graveyard orbit, etc-->
| deactivated        = 12 February 1999 <!--when craft was decommissioned-->
| destroyed          = <!--when craft was destroyed (if other than by re-entry)-->
| last_contact       = <!--when last signal received if not decommissioned-->
| recovery_by        = <!--recovered by-->
| recovery_date      = <!--recovery date-->
| decay_date         = {{end date|2011|10|23|23|00|00|7=Z|df=yes}}
| landing_date       = <!--when the spacecraft made a controlled landing, not needed if it did not return intact-->
| landing_site       = <!--where the craft landed; site/runway or coordinates-->
<!--
    The following template should be used for ONE of the three above fields "end_of_mission", "decay" or "landing" if the spacecraft is no longer operational.
    If it landed intact, use it for the landing time, otherwise for the date it ceased operations, or the decay date if it was still operational when it re-entered.
    {{end date|df=yes|YYYY|MM|DD|hh|mm|ss|TZ=Z}} (for Zulu/UTC) or {{end date|df=yes|YYYY|MM|DD}} (if time unknown) 
-->

<!--orbit parameters-->
<!--as science-related articles, SI units should be the principal units of measurement, however we usually use {{convert}} to display imperial units in parentheses after the initial values-->| orbit_reference    = [[Geocentric orbit|Geocentric]]
| orbit_regime       = <!--high, low, medium, molniya, GSO - please link (e.g. [[Low Earth orbit|Low Earth]] - please don't use acronyms-->
| orbit_longitude    = <!--geosynchronous satellites only-->
| orbit_slot         = <!--Designation of orbital position or slot, if not longitude (e.g plane and position of a GPS satellite)-->
| orbit_semimajor    = <!--semimajor axis-->
| orbit_eccentricity = 0
| orbit_periapsis    = {{convert|580|km|abbr=on}}<ref name="nssdc catalog">{{cite web|title=ROSAT space craft details|url=https://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/nmc/spacecraft/display.action?id=1990-049A|website=nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov|publisher=[[NASA]]|access-date=23 April 2016}}</ref>
| orbit_apoapsis     = {{convert|580|km|abbr=on}}
| orbit_inclination  = 53°
| orbit_period       = 96&nbsp;min
| orbit_RAAN         = <!--right ascension of the ascending node-->
| orbit_arg_periapsis = <!--argument of perigee/periapsis-->
| orbit_mean_anomaly = <!--mean anomaly at epoch, only use in conjunction with an epoch value-->
| orbit_mean_motion  = <!--mean motion of the satellite, usually measured in orbits per day-->
| orbit_repeat       = <!--repeat interval/revisit time-->
| orbit_velocity     = <!--speed at which the spacecraft was travelling at epoch - only use for spacecraft with low orbital eccentricity-->
| orbit_epoch        = 1990-06-01
| orbit_rev_number   = <!--revolution number-->
| apsis              = gee

<!--Telescope parameters-->| instrument_type    = 
| telescope_name     = <!--name, if different to the satellite-->
| telescope_type     = [[Wolter telescope|Wolter I]]
| telescope_diameter = {{convert|84|cm}}
| telescope_focal_length = {{convert|240|cm}}
| telescope_area     = <!--collecting area-->
| telescope_wavelength = 30-0.06&nbsp;nm, [[X-ray]]s and [[Extreme Ultraviolet]]
| telescope_resolution = 5 [[arc second|arc-s]] at half energy width<ref name="nssdc catalog"/>
| instruments        = Position Sensitive Proportional Counter<br />Wide Field Camera<br />High Resolution Imager

<!--transponder parameters-->| trans_band         = <!--Transponder frequency bands-->
| trans_frequency    = <!--specific frequencies-->
| trans_bandwidth    = <!--bandwidth-->
| trans_capacity     = <!--capacity of the transponders-->
| trans_coverage     = <!--area covered-->
| trans_TWTA         = <!--TWTA output power-->
| trans_EIRP         = <!--equivalent isotropic power-->
| trans_HPBW         = <!--half-power beam width-->

<!--mission insignia or patch-->| insignia           = <!--omit the "file" prefix-->
| insignia_caption   = <!--image caption-->
| insignia_alt       = <!--image alt text-->
| insignia_size      = <!--include px/em; defaults to 180px-->
}}

'''ROSAT''' (short for '''Röntgensatellit'''; in German X-rays are called Röntgenstrahlen, in honour of [[Wilhelm Röntgen]]) was a [[German Aerospace Center]]-led satellite [[X-ray telescope]], with instruments built by [[West Germany]], the United Kingdom and the United States. It was launched on 1 June 1990, on a [[Delta II]] rocket from [[Cape Canaveral]], on what was initially designed as an 18-month mission, with provision for up to five years of operation. ROSAT operated for over eight years, finally shutting down on 12 February 1999.

In February 2011, it was reported that the {{convert|2400|kg|lb|0|abbr=on|adj=on}} satellite was unlikely to burn up entirely while re-entering the Earth's atmosphere due to the large amount of ceramics and glass used in construction. Parts as heavy as {{convert|400|kg|lb|0|abbr=on}} could impact the surface.<ref name="Earth reentry">{{cite news|title=Drohender Absturz: Problem-Satellit beunruhigt Bundesregierung|newspaper=[[Der Spiegel]]|date=26 February 2011|language=de|url=http://www.spiegel.de/wissenschaft/weltall/0,1518,747899,00.html|access-date=26 February 2011|last1=Seidler|first1=Christoph}}</ref> ROSAT eventually [[re-entry|re-entered]] the Earth's atmosphere on 23 October 2011 over the [[Bay of Bengal]].<ref>{{Cite news |last=DLR |title=ROSAT re-entered atmosphere over Bay of Bengal |url=https://www.dlr.de/dlr/en/desktopdefault.aspx/tabid-10081/151_read-1779/#/gallery/3578 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180714192954/https://www.dlr.de/dlr/en/desktopdefault.aspx/tabid-10081/151_read-1779/#/gallery/3578 |archive-date=2018-07-14 |access-date=2018-07-14 |work=DLR Portal |language=en-GB}}</ref>

== Overview ==
The Roentgensatellit (ROSAT) was a joint German, U.S. and British X-ray astrophysics project.<ref name="NASA, ROSAT" >{{cite web|title=Overview of ROSAT|url=https://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/nmc/spacecraft/display.action?id=1990-049A|publisher=[[NASA]]}}</ref> ROSAT carried a German-built imaging X-ray Telescope (XRT) with three focal plane instruments: two German Position Sensitive [[Proportional counter|Proportional Counter]]s (PSPC) and the US-supplied High Resolution Imager (HRI). The X-ray mirror assembly was a [[angle of incidence (optics)|grazing incidence]] four-fold nested [[Wolter telescope|Wolter I telescope]] with an 84-cm diameter aperture and 240-cm focal length. The angular resolution was less than 5&nbsp;[[Minute of arc|arcsecond]] at half energy width (the "angle within which half of the electromagnetic radiation"<ref>[http://sci2.esa.int/glossary/glossary_h.html ESA Science Glossary]</ref> is focused). The XRT assembly was sensitive to X-rays between 0.1 and 2&nbsp;keV (one thousand [[Electronvolt]]).

In addition, a British-supplied extreme ultraviolet (XUV) telescope, the Wide Field Camera (WFC), was coaligned with the XRT and covered the energy band from 0.042 to 0.21&nbsp;keV (30 to 6&nbsp;[[nanometre|nm]]).

ROSAT's unique strengths were high spatial resolution, low-background, soft X-ray imaging for the study of the structure of low surface brightness features, and for low-resolution spectroscopy.

The ROSAT spacecraft was a [[Three-axis stabilisation|three-axis stabilized]] satellite which can be used for pointed observations, for [[Slew (spacecraft)|slewing]] between targets, and for performing scanning observations on great circles perpendicular to the plane of the [[ecliptic]]. ROSAT was capable of fast slews (180&nbsp;deg. in ~15&nbsp;min.) which makes it possible to observe two targets on opposite hemispheres during each orbit. The pointing accuracy was 1&nbsp;arcminute with stability less than 5&nbsp;arcsec per sec and jitter radius of ~10&nbsp;arcsec. Two CCD star sensors were used for optical position sensing of guide stars and attitude determination of the spacecraft. The post facto attitude determination accuracy was 6&nbsp;arcsec.

The ROSAT mission was divided into two phases:
# After a two-month on-orbit calibration and verification period, an all-sky survey was performed for six months using the PSPC in the focus of XRT, and in two XUV bands using the WFC. The survey was carried out in the scan mode.
# The second phase consists of the remainder of the mission and was devoted to pointed observations of selected astrophysical sources. In ROSAT's pointed phase, observing time was allocated to Guest Investigators from all three participating countries through peer review of submitted proposals. ROSAT had a design life of 18 months, but was expected to operate beyond its nominal lifetime.

{{See also|X-ray astronomy}}

== Instruments ==

=== {{anchor|XRT}} X-ray Telescope (XRT) ===
The main assembly was a German-built imaging X-ray Telescope (XRT) with three focal plane instruments: two German Position Sensitive Proportional Counters (PSPC) and the US-supplied High Resolution Imager (HRI). The X-ray mirror assembly was a grazing incidence four-fold nested [[Wolter telescope|Wolter I telescope]]  with an {{Convert|84|cm|in|0|abbr=on|adj=on}} diameter aperture and {{Convert|240|cm|in|0|abbr=on|adj=on}} focal length. The angular resolution was less than 5&nbsp;arcsec at half energy width. The XRT assembly was sensitive to X-rays between 0.1 and 2&nbsp;keV.<ref name="NASA, ROSAT" />

=== {{anchor|PSPC}} Position Sensitive Proportional Counters ''(two)'' (PSPC) ===
{{Expand section|date=September 2011}}

There are two Position Sensitive Proportional Counters (PSPC), PSPC-B and PSPC-C, mounted on a carousel within the focal plane turret of ROSAT. PSPC-C was intended to be the primary detector for the mission and was used for the bulk of the All-Sky Survey until it was destroyed during the AMCS glitch on 25 January 1991. After the glitch, PSPC-B was used for all further observations. Two more PSPCs(PSPC-A and PSPC-D) were mounted on ROSAT for ground calibration.<ref>{{Cite web |date=June 22, 2001 |title=The ROSAT PSPC |url=https://heasarc.gsfc.nasa.gov/docs/rosat/pspc.html}}</ref>

Each PSPC is a thin-window gas counter. Each incoming X-ray photon produces an electron cloud whose position and charge are detected using two wire grids. The photon position is determined with an accuracy of about 120 micrometers. The electron cloud's charge corresponds to the photon energy,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/nmc/experiment/display.action?id=1990-049A-02|title=Position Sensitive Proportional Counter}}</ref> with a nominal spectral bandpass 0.1-2.4 keV.

=== {{anchor|HRI}} High Resolution Imager (HRI) ===
{{Expand section|date=September 2011}}
The US-supplied High Resolution Imager used a crossed grid detector with a position accuracy to 25 micrometers.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/nmc/experiment/display.action?id=1990-049A-01|title=High Resolution Imager (HRI)}}</ref> The instrument was damaged by solar exposure on 20 September 1998.

=== {{anchor|WFC}} Wide Field Camera (WFC) ===
{{Expand section|date=September 2011}}
The Wide Field Camera (WFC) was a UK-supplied extreme ultraviolet (XUV) telescope co-aligned with the XRT and covered the wave band between 300 and 60 [[angstrom]]s (0.042 to 0.21&nbsp;keV).<ref name="NASA, ROSAT" />

==Highlights==
[[File:Moon in x-rays.gif|thumb|right|Earth's Moon on 29 June 1990 by ROSAT]]
[[File:Vela_SNR_-_RASS.jpg|thumb|[[Vela Supernova Remnant]], imaged by ROSAT]]
* [[X-ray]] all-sky survey catalog, more than 150,000 objects
* [[Extreme ultraviolet|XUV]] all-sky survey catalog (479 objects)
* Source catalogs from the pointed phase (PSPC and HRI) containing ~ 100,000 serendipitous sources
* Detailed morphology of [[supernova]] remnants and [[Galaxy cluster|clusters of galaxies]].
* Detection of shadowing of diffuse X-ray emission by [[molecular cloud]]s.
* Detection of pulsations from [[Geminga]].
* Detection of isolated [[neutron star]]s.
* Discovery of X-ray emission from [[comet]]s.
* Observation of X-ray emission from the collision of [[Comet Shoemaker-Levy]] with [[Jupiter]].

===Catalogues===
* [[1RXS]] – an [[acronym]] which is the prefix used for the First ROSAT X-ray Survey (1st ROSAT X-ray Survey), a catalogue of astronomical objects visible for ROSAT in the X-ray spectrum.

== See also ==
* [[:Category:ROSAT objects]]

== Launch ==
ROSAT was originally planned to be launched on the [[Space Shuttle]] but the [[Space Shuttle Challenger disaster|Challenger disaster]] caused it to be moved to the [[Delta rocket|Delta]] platform. This move made it impossible to recapture ROSAT with a Shuttle and bring it back to Earth.{{citation needed|date=November 2012}}

== End of operations ==
Originally designed for a five-year mission, ROSAT continued in its extended mission for a further four years before equipment failure forced an end to the mission. For some months after this, ROSAT completed its very last observations before being finally switched off on 12 February 1999.<ref name="GOC, End" >{{cite web|title=ROSAT completes almost a decade of discovery|url=http://www.ledas.ac.uk/rosat-goc/rosat_pr.html|date=18 February 1999|publisher=[[#ROSAT UK GOC|UK ROSAT Guest Observer Centre]]}}</ref>

On 25 April 1998, failure of the primary [[star tracker]] on the [[#XRT|X-ray Telescope]] led to pointing errors that in turn had caused solar overheating.<ref name="ROSAT news 60, star tracker failure">{{cite journal|title=ROSAT/LEDAS electronic newsletter|issue=12|date=5 June 1998|url=http://ledas-www.star.le.ac.uk/rosat-goc/rosnews12|publisher=[[#ROSAT UK GOC|UK ROSAT Guest Observer Centre]]|journal=ROSAT News |url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151228232103/http://ledas-www.star.le.ac.uk/rosat-goc/rosnews12|archive-date=28 December 2015}}</ref> A contingency plan and the necessary software had already been developed to utilise an alternative star tracker attached to the [[#WFC|Wide Field Camera]].

ROSAT was soon operational again, but with some restrictions to the effectiveness of its tracking and thus its control.<ref name="ROSAT news 66, Damage to HRI" >{{cite web|title=Severe Damage to ROSAT High Resolution Imager|url=http://ledas-www.star.le.ac.uk/rosat-goc/mpenews66|work=star.le.ac.uk|date=15 October 1998|access-date=23 October 2011|archive-date=10 December 2000|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20001210175800/http://ledas-www.star.le.ac.uk/rosat-goc/mpenews66|url-status=dead}}</ref> It was severely damaged on 20 September 1998 when a [[reaction wheel]] in the spacecraft's Attitude Measuring and Control System reached its maximum rotational speed,<ref group="note" >A [[reaction wheel]] operates by changing its rotational velocity, [[conservation of angular momentum]] then causing the more massive satellite to rotate in opposition. Their maximum speed is limited by design, which in turn means they are limited in the rotational velocity they can impart to a satellite.{{clarify|date=September 2011}} "Reaching maximum speed" means merely that it cannot impart any more velocity change, not that it's approaching mechanical damage to itself.</ref> losing control of a slew, damaging the High Resolution Imager by exposure to the sun.<ref name="ROSAT news 66, Damage to HRI" /> This failure was initially attributed to the difficulties of controlling the satellite under these difficult circumstances outside its initial design parameters.<ref name="ROSAT news 66, Damage to HRI" />

=== Allegations of cyber-attacks causing the failure ===
In 2008, NASA investigators were reported to have found that the ROSAT failure was linked to a cyber-intrusion at [[Goddard Space Flight Center]].<ref name="Businessweek, Cyber attacks on NASA" >{{cite web
  |title=Network Security Breaches Plague NASA
  |url=http://www.businessweek.com/print/magazine/content/08_48/b4110072404167.htm
  |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120414223803/http://www.businessweek.com/print/magazine/content/08_48/b4110072404167.htm
  |url-status=dead
  |archive-date=14 April 2012
  |date=20 November 2008
  |publisher=[[Business Week]]
  |quote=Without warning one day, the ROSAT satellite turned, seemingly inexplicably, toward the sun. The move damaged a critical optical sensor, rendering the satellite useless in its mission of making X-ray and ultraviolet images of deep space.}}</ref> The root of this allegation is a 1999 advisory report by Thomas Talleur, senior investigator for cyber-security at NASA.<ref name="Businessweek, Cyber attacks on NASA" /> This advisory<ref name="NASA, 2007, Talleur report" >{{cite book
  |title=Russian Domain Attacks Against NASA Network Systems|last=Talleur|first=Thomas J.|date=18 January 1999|publisher=Inspector General's office, NASA|pages=26 |no-pp=y|location=Not publicly published. Classified as "For Official Use Only—No Foreign Dissemination"}}</ref> is reported to describe a series of attacks from Russia that reached computers in the X-ray Astrophysics Section (i.e. ROSAT's) at [[Goddard Space Flight Center|Goddard]], and took control of computers used for the control of satellites, not just a passive "snooping" attack. The advisory stated: <blockquote>"Hostile activities compromised [NASA] computer systems that directly and indirectly deal with the design, testing, and transferring of satellite package command-and-control codes."<ref name="NASA, 2007, Talleur report" /></blockquote>

The advisory is further reported as claiming that the ROSAT incident was "coincident with the intrusion"<ref name="Businessweek, Cyber attacks on NASA" /> and that, "Operational characteristics and commanding of the ROSAT were sufficiently similar to other space assets to provide intruders with valuable information about how such platforms are commanded,".<ref name="Businessweek, Cyber attacks on NASA" /> Without public access to the advisory, it is obviously impossible to comment in detail. Even if it did describe a real intrusion, there is a plausible "no attack" explanation for ROSAT's failure, and the report is claimed to link the two incidents as no more than "coincident."{{or|date=April 2024}} However, NASA officials in charge of the day-to-day operations of the ROSAT mission at Goddard, including GSFC Rosat Project Scientist Rob Petre, say definitively that no such incident occurred. Talleur's information appears to have come from one of his interns who exaggerated a hacking incident on an office computer not related to flight operations.<ref>{{cite interview | last = Petre | first = Rob | interviewer = Jonathan McDowell |title = ROSAT hacking claim |url= https://planet4589.org/space/jsr/back/news.649.txt | year = 2011}}</ref>

IT security remains a significant issue for NASA.  Other systems including the [[Earth Observing System]] have also been attacked.<ref name="NASA, 2007, Challenges report" >
{{cite web|url= http://oig.nasa.gov/NASA2007ManagementChallenges.pdf |title=NASA's Most Serious Management and Performance Challenges }}&nbsp;{{small|(73 KB)}} 13 November 2007, p.3</ref>

== Re-entry ==
[[File:ROSAT one of the last images before reentry.jpg|thumb|ROSAT: one of the last images of ROSAT before reentry]]
In 1990, the satellite was put in an orbit at an altitude of {{convert|580|km|mi|0|abbr=on}} and inclination of 53°.<ref>{{Cite web |title=ROSAT - Launch and Operations |url=http://www.mpe.mpg.de/xray/wave/rosat/mission/rosat/launch.php |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111006030341/http://www.mpe.mpg.de/xray/wave/rosat/mission/rosat/launch.php |archive-date=6 October 2011 |access-date=26 September 2011 |publisher=Max-Planck-Institut für extraterrestrische Physik}}</ref> Due to atmospheric drag, the satellite slowly lost height until, in September 2011, the satellite was orbiting approximately {{convert|270|km|mi|0|abbr=on}} above the Earth. On 23 October 2011 ROSAT re-entered the Earth's atmosphere sometime between 1:45 UTC and 2:15 UTC over the [[Bay of Bengal]], east of India. There was no confirmation if pieces of debris had reached the Earth's surface.<ref name="reentry">{{cite web|url=http://www.dlr.de/dlr/en/desktopdefault.aspx/tabid-10424|title=ROSAT – latest news|date=25 October 2011|work=DLR Portal|access-date=25 October 2011}}</ref><ref name="Heavens above">{{cite web|title=ROSAT Information|publisher=[[Heavens-Above]]|url=http://www.heavens-above.com/satinfo.aspx?SatID=20638|access-date=1 April 2009}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.newscientist.com/article/dn20955-second-big-satellite-set-to-resist-reentry-burnup.html |title=Second big satellite set to resist re-entry burn-up – space – 23 September 2011 |publisher=[[New Scientist]] |access-date=2012-01-30}}</ref>

== Successor ==

[[eROSITA]] launched on board the Russian-German [[Spektr-RG]] space observatory in 2019.<ref name="Spektr-RG">{{cite web |date=13 July 2019 |title=Spektr-RG observatory has been put into orbit |url=http://en.roscosmos.ru/20814/ |website=ROSCOSMOS |access-date=16 July 2019}}</ref> It will provide an updated all-sky survey of the X-ray sky, extending the energy range to 10keV, increase the sensitivity by a factor of 25 and improve the spatial and spectral resolution.

== Notes ==
{{Reflist|group=note}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==See also==
{{Portal|Spaceflight}}
*[[List of X-ray space telescopes]]

==External links==
{{Commons category|ROSAT}}
* {{cite web  |title=ROSAT  |url=http://www.dlr.de/en/rosat  |publisher=German Aerospace Center DLR}}
* {{cite web|title=The ROSAT Mission|url=http://www.mpe.mpg.de/ROSAT|publisher=[[Max Planck Institute for Extraterrestrial Physics|Max-Planck-Institut für extraterrestrische Physik]]}}
* {{cite web  |title=UK ROSAT Guest Observer Centre  |url=http://ledas-www.star.le.ac.uk/rosat-goc/  |publisher=[[University of Leicester]], Department of Physics & Astronomy  |ref=ROSAT UK GOC  |access-date=24 November 2008  |archive-date=17 August 2000  |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20000817172142/http://ledas-www.star.le.ac.uk/rosat-goc/  |url-status=dead  }}
* {{cite web  |url=https://twitter.com/ROSAT_Reentry  |title=ROSAT reentry Twitter feed}}
* [http://www.xray.mpe.mpg.de/rosat/survey/rass-bsc/ 1RXS Catalog site] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100113095354/http://www.xray.mpe.mpg.de/rosat/survey/rass-bsc/ |date=13 January 2010 }}
*[https://projects.mpe.mpg.de/heg/rosat/mission/rosat/development.html MPE – ROSAT Development]

{{Space observatories}}

{{Orbital launches in 1990}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rosat}}
[[Category:Spacecraft which reentered in 2011]]
[[Category:Space telescopes]]
[[Category:X-ray telescopes]]
[[Category:Satellites of Germany]]
[[Category:ROSAT objects|*]]
[[Category:Spacecraft launched in 1990]]