GALEX (SMEX 7) [OSC]
Official name GALEX
Alternative name GALEX
Cospar ID 2003-017A
Norad ID 27783
Launch date 2003-04-28
Launch site AFETR
Launch vehicle Pegasus-XL
Country/Organization USA
Type application Astronomy, UV
Operator NASA
RCS size LARGE
Decay date ON ORBIT
Period (min) 98.27
Inclination (deg) 29
Perigee (km) 673
Apogee (km) 678
Eccentricity 0.00370096225018505
Mean motion (revs. per day) 14.6535056477053
Semi-Major axis (km) 7053.635
Raan (deg) 356.1809
Arg of perigee (deg) 218.535
Shape Box + 2 Pan
Mass (kg) 280
Height (m) 2
Width (m) 1.1
Depth (m) 1.1
Span (m^2) 2.8
Contractors Orbital Sciences Corporation (OSC)
Equipment 50 cm Modified Ritchey-Chretien Telescope
Propulsion ?
Configuration LEOStar-2
Power Deployable fixed solar array, batteries

GALEX (Galaxy Evolution Explorer) uses a Modified Ritchey-Chretien (Aspheric corrected) telescope for UV imaging and spectroscopic survey to map the global history and probe the causes of star formation and its evolution over the redshift range 0<z<2.

The GALEX method exploits demonstrated techniques to

  • use the Lyman break to measure redshift and distance in photometric and spectroscopic data
  • UV slope to measure extinction
  • UV luminosity to measure star formation rate and its history over cosmic time

The GALEX space craft is based on Orbital's LEOStar-2 bus.

GALEX was decommissioned on 28 June 2013 after more than 10 years of operation.

Satellite COSPAR Date LS Launch Vehicle Remarks
GALEX 2003-017A 2003-04-28 AFETR Pegasus-XL