Array of Low Energy X-ray Imaging Sensors
ALEXIS was a U.S. Department of Energy small-satellite mission built by Los Alamos National Laboratory with Sandia National Laboratories and the University of California Space Sciences Laboratory. Six wide-field telescopes surveyed the sky in narrow extreme-ultraviolet bands, while the BLACKBEARD experiment studied ionospheric effects on radio signals.
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Identity
- Aliases
- ALEXISP89-1B1993-026A
- Name
- Array of Low Energy X-ray Imaging Sensors
- Status
- completed
Details
- Astronauts
- -
- Description
- ALEXIS was a U.S. Department of Energy small-satellite mission built by Los Alamos National Laboratory with Sandia National Laboratories and the University of California Space Sciences Laboratory. Six wide-field telescopes surveyed the sky in narrow extreme-ultraviolet bands, while the BLACKBEARD experiment studied ionospheric effects on radio signals.
- Destination
- High-inclination low Earth orbit at approximately 400 nautical miles for wide-angle extreme-ultraviolet and ultrasoft X-ray surveys of the sky and monitoring of ionospheric radio effects
- End Date
- 2005-04-29
- Launch Site
- Outcome
- ALEXIS reached orbit, but a solar-paddle hinge failed during deployment and initially prevented normal contact and attitude control. The team recovered useful operations by July 1993; the spacecraft then surveyed extreme-ultraviolet sources and radio propagation until operations ended on April 29, 2005, far beyond its planned one-year mission.
- Programs
- Start Date
- 1993-04-25
- Vehicle Families
Links
Assets & Meta
- Creation Time
- July 18, 2026 at 17:43:43 UTC
- Updated Time
- August 24, 2026 at 05:24:28 UTC
Other
- Affiliations
- Search Name
- Array of Low Energy X-ray Imaging Sensors ALEXIS P89-1B 1993-026A
- Space Stations
- -
- Vehicles