Page 29 - Italy In Space
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Space Astronomy [2]
August 8, 1989. Launch of HIPPARCOS from Kourou atop a Ariane-3 launcher. The data collected
by this mission provide accurate determination of proper motions and parallaxes of stars, allowing a
determination of their distance and tangential velocity. More than 118,200 stars have been catalogued.
Commemorative cover cancelled on the day of launch with Ariane-3 manual postmark.
April 30, 1996. Launch of BeppoSAX (X-ray Astronomy Satellite) from KSC. SAX, eventually dubbed
BeppoSAX in honour of the Italian physicist Giuseppe "Beppo" Occhialini, played a crucial role in
explaining the origin of gamma-ray bursts, the most energetic events known in the universe. Its main
achievements was the identification of several gamma ray bursts from extra-galactic objects.
Commemorative cover improperly cancelled with the special machine Shuttle postmark.
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