Name |
Name
Before Launch |
Spectral
Region |
Year
Launched |
End-of-Life |
Comments |
Follow-On
|
W |
Hubble Space
Telescope, HST |
Large Space Telescope, LST |
Visible, UV, and Near-IR |
1990 |
— |
Launched and serviced by Space Shuttle. |
James Webb Space Telescope, JWST (IR and visible) |
Hubble Homepage |
|
Gamma Ray Observatory, GRO |
Gamma Ray |
1991 |
2000 |
Shuttle-launched |
Fermi Gamma-Ray Space Telescope, formerly Gamma-Ray Large Area Space
Telescope, GLAST |
NASA |
Chandra X-Ray
Observatory, CXO |
Advanced X-Ray Astro-physics Facility, AXAF |
X-Ray |
1999 |
— |
Shuttle-launched; extended delays due to cost of HST |
Constellation-X provides greater sensitivity, but lower resolution |
NASA |
Spitzer Space
Telescope, SST |
Space Infrared Tele-scope Facility, SIRTF |
Infrared |
2003 |
— |
Launched on Delta II |
JWST observations will re-place SST in the near infrared |
Spitzer Homepage |