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Solar Interplanetary Gamma Ray Neutron Experiment 3

An artist's conception of the SIGNE 3 satellite.

An artist's conception of the SIGNE 3 satellite. (Credit: CNES)

Lifetime: June 1977 - June 1979

Country (primary): France (launched by the Soviet Union)

Primary Science

Solar Interplanetary Gamma Ray Neutron Experiment 3, or SIGNE 3 for short, was a French satellite place in orbit by the Soviet Union. It carried two experiments, one for gamma-ray astronomy and another for monitoring of the solar spectrum in two ultraviolet bands.

High Energy Science

Gamma-ray burst detectors were carried by elements of the SIGNE program. SIGNE 1 was flown on the Prognoz 2 satellite and SIGNE was aboard the Prognoz 6 satellite. SIGNE 3 was flown as a small French-built satellite. Other SIGNE packages were flown as part of other missions: Prognoz 7, Prognoz 9, Venera 11 and Venera 12.

Science Highlights

  • Data was combined with data from its contemporaries to localize gamma-ray bursts

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