Page 7 - Italy In Space
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SAN MARCO Programme [5]
May 7, 1975. Launch of SAS 3 (Small Astronomy Satellite also known as SAS-C or Explorer 53), a
NASA X-ray astronomy space telescope operated by MIT's Center for Space Research (CSR). It
functioned from May 7, 1975 to April 1979 and led to the discovery of about a dozen X-ray busters.
The satellite operation was supported by NASA Goddard Space Flight Center which was monitoring
and measuring X-ray emissions from extra-galactic X-rays sources.
Nine satellites were launched altogether from the San Marco Platform, Near Malindi, Kenya.
In 1975 the San Marco project entered in a long phase of standby, due to dramatic budget problems,
also because of the financial competition with the SIRIO project.
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