Solar Interplanetary Gamma Ray Neutron Experiment 3
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