Q: What was the primary mission of the Rossi X-ray Timing Explorer?

A: RXTE was designed to observe X-ray emissions with high time resolution, enabling studies of neutron stars, black holes, and other high-energy astrophysical phenomena.

Q: When was RXTE launched, and what rocket carried it?

A: It launched on December 30, 1995, aboard a Delta II rocket from Cape Canaveral Space Launch Complex 17.

Q: Is RXTE still operational?

A: No, RXTE was decommissioned in 2012 after 16 years of successful scientific observations.

Rossi X-ray Timing Explorer

NASA space observatory

Vehicle space_telescope Q766426

Facts

12 properties

Instance of: space telescope
Follows: Solar Anomalous and Magnetospheric Particle Explorer^[2]
Followed by: Fast Auroral Snapshot Explorer^[3]
Official website: heasarc.gsfc.nasa.gov^[8]
Website: heasarc.gsfc.nasa.gov
Launch date: 1995-12-30
Part of: Explorers Program^[4]
Launch vehicle: Delta II
Significant event: rocket launch^[7]
Space launch vehicle: Delta II^[5]
Start point: Cape Canaveral Space Launch Complex 17^[9]
UTC date of spacecraft launch: December 30, 1995^[6]

🏷️ Also known as

en Explorer 69 en Rossi X-ray Timing Explorer en RXTE ar مسبار روسي لتوقيت أشعة إكس ar مسبار روسي لتوقيت الأشعة السينية de X-Ray Timing Explorer fa کاوشگر زمان‌سنج پرتو ایکس روسی ko 로시 엑스선 타이밍 익스플로러 zh 罗西X射线计时探测器

🔖 Identifiers · 6

Image (Wikimedia Commons): RXTE.jpg ↗
COSPAR ID: 1995-074A
Freebase ID: /m/02vz2b
NSSDCA ID: 1995-074A
SCN: 23757
Wolfram Language entity code: Entity["Satellite", "23757"]

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🔗 Connections

Followed by 1

Fast Auroral Snapshot Explorer

Followed by (predecessor) 1

Fast Auroral Snapshot Explorer

Follows 1

Solar Anomalous and Magnetospheric Particle Explorer

Instance of 1

space telescope

Part of 1

Explorers Program

Preceded by (successor) 1

Solar Anomalous and Magnetospheric Particle Explorer

Significant event 1

rocket launch

Space launch vehicle 1

Delta II

Start point 1

Cape Canaveral Space Launch Complex 17

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Summary

Rossi X-ray Timing Explorer is a space telescope^[1].

References

Programmatic citations — every numbered marker resolves to a verifiable graph row below.

Direct Wikidata claims

[2] ↑ Rossi X-ray Timing Explorer — follows (P155): Solar Anomalous and Magnetospheric Particle Explorer. wikidata.org.
[3] ↑ Rossi X-ray Timing Explorer — followed by (P156): Fast Auroral Snapshot Explorer. wikidata.org.
[4] ↑ Rossi X-ray Timing Explorer — part of (P361): Explorers Program. wikidata.org.
[5] ↑ Rossi X-ray Timing Explorer — space launch vehicle (P375): Delta II. Jonathan's Space Report. wikidata.org.
[6] ↑ Rossi X-ray Timing Explorer — UTC date of spacecraft launch (P619): December 30, 1995. Jonathan's Space Report. wikidata.org.
[7] ↑ Rossi X-ray Timing Explorer — significant event (P793): rocket launch. Jonathan's Space Report. wikidata.org.
[8] ↑ Rossi X-ray Timing Explorer — official website (P856): https://heasarc.gsfc.nasa.gov/docs/xte/xte_1st.html. wikidata.org.
[9] ↑ Rossi X-ray Timing Explorer — start point (P1427): Cape Canaveral Space Launch Complex 17. Jonathan's Space Report. wikidata.org.

Class ancestry

[1] ↑ Rossi X-ray Timing Explorer is an instance of space telescope (Q148578) [P31, primary]. Wikidata. wikidata.org.

📑 Cite this page

Use these citations when quoting this entity in research, articles, AI prompts, or wherever provenance matters. We aggregate Wikidata + Wikipedia + authoritative open-data sources; the stitched, scored, cross-referenced view is what 4ort.xyz contributes.

APA

4ort.xyz Knowledge Graph. (2026). Rossi X-ray Timing Explorer. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://4ort.xyz/entity/rossi-x-ray-timing-explorer

MLA

“Rossi X-ray Timing Explorer.” 4ort.xyz Knowledge Graph, 4ort.xyz, 2 Nov. 2026, https://4ort.xyz/entity/rossi-x-ray-timing-explorer.

BibTeX

@misc{4ortxyz_rossi-x-ray-timing-explorer_2026, author = {{4ort.xyz Knowledge Graph}}, title = {{Rossi X-ray Timing Explorer}}, year = {2026}, url = {https://4ort.xyz/entity/rossi-x-ray-timing-explorer}, note = {Accessed: 2026-11-02}}

LLM prompt

According to 4ort.xyz Knowledge Graph (aggregator of Wikidata, Wikipedia, and authoritative open-data sources): Rossi X-ray Timing Explorer — https://4ort.xyz/entity/rossi-x-ray-timing-explorer (retrieved 2026-11-02)

Canonical URL: https://4ort.xyz/entity/rossi-x-ray-timing-explorer · Last refreshed: November 2, 2026