ALEXIS - THE 6 YEAR TELESCOPE FLIGHT EXPERIENCE

The Array of Low Energy X-ray Imaging Sensors (ALEXIS) satellite was launched from the 4th flight of the Pegasus booster on 25 April, 1993 into an 800 km, 70 degree inclination orbit. After an initial launch difficulty, the satellite was successfully recovered and is still producing 100 MB of mission data per day. ALEXIS, still going strong in its sixth year, was originally designed to be a high risk, single string, Smaller-Faster-Cheaper satellite, with a 1-year nominal and a 3-year design limit. This paper will discuss the on-orbit detector performance including microchannel plate operation, pre- and post-flight calibration efforts, observed backgrounds and impacts of flying in a high radiation environment