| Mission type | Sub-millimeter/FarIR |
|---|---|
| Operator | Russian Astro Space Center |
| Website | http://millimetron.ru/index.php/en/ |
| Spacecraft properties | |
| Manufacturer | NPO Lavochkin |
| Payload mass | 6,240 kg (13,757 lb) |
| Start of mission | |
| Launch date | 2030 (planned)[1] |
| Rocket | Angara A5 |
| Launch site | Vostochny Site 1A |
| Contractor | Roscosmos |
| Orbital parameters | |
| Reference system | Sun–Earth L2 |
| Regime | Halo orbit |
| Main telescope | |
| Diameter | 10 m (33 ft) |
| Wavelengths | 0.02 to 17mm |
Spektr program | |
Spektr-M[2] (Russian: Спектр-M) is a proposed Russian scientific satellite with a 10 m (33 ft) sub-millimeter to far infrared space telescope. It is designed to be a successor to the Herschel Space Observatory, covering similar wave bands, and to look into chemical evolution in the universe, black hole horizon radiation, and dark energy investigation.[3] Spacecraft design documentation and prototyping is currently underway and expected to continue until 2023. Due to budget cuts in 2019, launch is not expected until 2030.[4][1]
The purpose of this mission is to study the universe in millimeter to far infra-red wavelengths. The Herschel mission did a similar job with a smaller dish of 3.5 m (11 ft), and this is a follow-up mission. The instruments are to be cooled with liquid helium to 4.5K for part of the mission, but sun shields will allow it to continue in a degraded mode once the coolant evaporates.
It will be placed in a halo orbit around the Sun–Earth L2 Lagrangian point.[5]
