Spektr-RG

Spectrum-X-Gamma, SRG, SXG

Mission Profile

Spektr-RG (Spectrum-X-Gamma) is a Russian/German X-ray space observatory launched on 13 July 2019 aboard a Proton-M to the Sun-Earth L2 Lagrange point, where it conducts an all-sky X-ray survey with unprecedented sensitivity and spectral resolution using two complementary telescopes. The German eROSITA instrument uses Wolter-I grazing-incidence optics to map the full sky in soft X-rays between 0.2 and 10 keV, while the Russian ART-XC telescope extends coverage to hard X-rays. Spektr-RG's first all-sky survey completed in 2020 detected approximately 1 million X-ray sources, revealing thousands of galaxy clusters tracing the large-scale structure of the universe and providing the most comprehensive census of accreting supermassive black holes ever assembled. The eROSITA telescope's operations were suspended by Germany in March 2022 following Russia's invasion of Ukraine, though the spacecraft and ART-XC continue to operate.