High Energy Astronomy Observatory (HEAO)

This artist's conception depicts the High Energy Astronomy Observatory (HEAO)-1 in orbit. The first observatory, designated HEAO-1, was launched on August 12, 1977 aboard an Atlas/Centaur launch vehicle and was designed to survey the sky for additional x-ray and gamma-ray sources as well as pinpointing their positions. The HEAO-1 was originally identified as HEAO-A but the designation was changed once the spacecraft achieved orbit. The HEAO project involved the launching of three unmarned scientific observatories into low Earth orbit between 1977 and 1979 to study some of the most intriguing mysteries of the universe; pulsars, black holes, neutron stars, and super nova. Hardware support for the imaging instruments was provided by American Science and Engineeing. The HEAO spacecraft were built by TRW, Inc. under project management of the Marshall Space Flight Center.