For most of us, what we know of the marvels of space lies in what we can see, with or without optical telescopes. However, the majority of the Universe’s secrets are hidden from view, buried within the furthest reaches of light’s spectrum and other electromagnetic radiation. For astronomers, using telescopes to observe such extreme forms of radiation allows them to get a far more detailed view of the Universe. In the near future, that view will come to life, courtesy of a complex array of instruments currently being built by Russia in collaboration with Spain, Germany, and Japan. Once completed, the Spektr-UF, also known as the World Space Observatory–Ultraviolet (WSO-UV), will scan the Universe’s ultraviolet (UV) wavelength signals to see what it can find. Astronomers can hardly wait.
Spektr-UF is the third such telescope mission driven by the Russian Federal Space Agency, Roscosmos, and made possible through international cooperation. The first, Spektr-R, launched on 18th July 2011, was a collaboration with the Russian Academy of Sciences and various international partners, including NASA and several European organisations. Spektr-R carried a 10-metre diameter radio telescope antenna – the largest single-dish space-based radio telescope ever launched at the time. The mission’s main objective was to conduct high-resolution imaging and radio interferometry observations in coordination with ground-based radio telescopes using a process known as Very Long Baseline Interferometry. Spektr-R made significant contributions to radio astronomy before it stopped communicating in 2019, resulting in the mission being terminated.
