The task of INTEGRAL will be to gather the most energetic radiation that comes from space. INTEGRAL will be the most sensitive gamma-ray observatory ever launched. It will detect radiation from the most violent events far away and from processes that made the universe habitable.
			International Gamma-Ray Astrophysics Laboratory.
	Type		INTEGRAL big and heavy gamma ray observatory, three-axis stabilised. It is made up of two modules: the Service module provides the housekeeping equipment, i.e. power generation, conditioning and control, stabilisation and ground-satellite link, and the Payload Module carries the scientific instruments. The service module will be identical for the two ESA scientific missions, Integral and XMM
	Mass		Total launch mass is more 4.1 tonnes including 2 tonnes of the scientific payload.
	Size		The spacecraft size is 4x4x6 m (solar arrays undeployed)
	Gamma-ray imaging		High angular resolution of 12 arcmin over an energy range between 15 keV and 10 MeV
	Gamma-ray spectrometry		Perform spectral analysis of gamma-ray point sources and extended regions over an energy range between 20 keV and 8 MeV with energy resolution of 2 keV at 1 MeV
	X-ray optics		Provide images in the energy range of 3 - 35 keV with an angular resolution of 3 arcmin
	SPI		Spectrometer on INTEGRAL will perform spectral analysis of gamma-ray point sources and extended regions over an energy range between 20 keV and 8 MeV with an unprecedented energy resolution of 2 keV at 1 Me. Principal Investigators are Gilbert Vedrenne, CESR, Toulouse, France and Volker Schoenfelder, MPE, Garching, Germany
	Jem-X		X-Ray Monitor will make observations simultaneously with the main gamma-ray instruments and will provide images in the energy range of 3 - 35 keV with an angular resolution of 3 arcmin. Principal Investigator Niels Lund, DSRI, Copenhagen, Denmark
	IBIS		Gamma Ray Imager on Board the INTEGRAL Satellite will achieve a high angular resolution of 12 arcmin over an energy range between 15 keV and 10 MeV. Sources can be located to 1 arcmin. Pietro Ubertini, IAS, Frascati, Italy
	OMC		optical camera on board of INTEGRAL offers the first opportunity to make long observations of the visible light coming from the gamma-ray and X-ray sources. Alvaro Gimenez, INTA, Madrid, Spain
	Date		Baikonur Cosmodrome in the Republic of Kazakhstan, October 2002
	Vehicle		Russian Proton rocket
			Eccentric 72-hour orbit around the Earth. 10 000 - 153 000 km altitude, 51.6° inclination. The spacecraft will spend most of its time above an altitude of 40 000 km outside Earth's radiation belts thus minimising background radiation effects.
			Operational lifetime of 2 years with possible extension to up to 5 years, controlled by by the European Space Operations Centre (ESOC, Darmstadt Germany) using ground stations at ESA's Redu (Belgium) and NASA's Goldstone (USA).