Gamma

Mission Profile

Gamma was a Soviet/French hard X-ray and gamma-ray astrophysics satellite launched on 11 July 1990 aboard a Soyuz-U2 to study celestial sources of high-energy radiation, carrying instruments from the USSR, France, and Poland. The spacecraft conducted observations of gamma-ray bursts, active galactic nuclei, pulsars, and solar flares during its mission, contributing to the international fleet of high-energy observatories active in the early 1990s alongside the Compton Gamma Ray Observatory and ROSAT. Gamma operated for approximately five years before its power systems degraded, providing complementary spectral coverage to other space-based gamma-ray instruments of the era and furthering Soviet-French cooperation in high-energy astrophysics.