About: dbkwik:resource/M79pSp0jxwKuYAZ59tqNyw==

Property	Value
rdf:type	spaceflight
rdfs:label	Cosmic Background Explorer
rdfs:comment	The Cosmic Background Explorer (COBE), also referred to as Explorer 66, was a satellite dedicated to cosmology. Its goals were to investigate the cosmic microwave background radiation (CMB) of the universe and provide measurements that would help shape our understanding of the cosmos.
owl:sameAs	dbr:Cosmic_Background_Explorer
COSPAR ID	1989
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deactivated	1993-12-23
Previous Mission	dbkwik:resource/_AR-hjBCJbefwKQLJLjcow==
Power	542.0
SATCAT	20322
Mission Duration	1.292922E8
disposal type	decommissioned
Name	Cosmic Background Explorer
orbit mean anomaly	351.100700
Insignia	Cosmic Background Explorer logo.jpg
orbit RAAN	215.493300
Image caption	Artist's concept of the COBE spacecraft
Manufacturer	Goddard Space Flight Center
orbit period	6150.0
orbit mean motion	14.047283
orbit inclination	98.980800
Image size	250
Operator	National Aeronautics and Space Administration
telescope type	off-axis Gregorian
launch site	dbkwik:resource/KJnqnPFMXPuBREV3Q1qqOw== Vandenberg Air Force Base
names list	Explorer 66
Mission Type	dbkwik:resource/WcOEysDV3hqgCO64ewmg-Q== dbkwik:resource/NTR5BGLL6_2Gv8V1h0svAg==
apsis	gee
orbit regime	dbkwik:resource/l8Dw_PWwMcCJyueOz9MMFw==
Programme	Explorers program
launch rocket	dbkwik:resource/rD9ywIp58kI9f438kpA4kQ==
Launch date	1989-11-18
orbit arg periapsis	52.827000
insignia size	250
orbit rev number	31549
telescope wavelength	Microwave, Infrared
orbit epoch	--07-21
Next Mission	dbkwik:resource/vvz4IWMqBUpIYiJKcrbQfA==
insignia caption	NASA COBE logo
orbit reference	Geocentric orbit
orbit eccentricity	0.000939
abstract	The Cosmic Background Explorer (COBE), also referred to as Explorer 66, was a satellite dedicated to cosmology. Its goals were to investigate the cosmic microwave background radiation (CMB) of the universe and provide measurements that would help shape our understanding of the cosmos. This work provided evidence that supported the Big Bang theory of the universe: that the CMB was a near-perfect black-body spectrum and that it had very faint anisotropies. Two of COBE's principal investigators, George Smoot and John Mather, received the Nobel Prize in Physics in 2006 for their work on the project. According to the Nobel Prize committee, "the COBE-project can also be regarded as the starting point for cosmology as a precision science".