Stars - Science Mission Directorate

Stars Missions

The exploration into the origins of our solar system ... of our very existence, requires the development of complex space missions.

Report of the 2008 Senior Review of the Astrophysics Division Operating Missions

*Sort missions by clicking Launch Date, A-Z, or PHASE column headers.

Launch Date	A-Z	Phase
19901202 December 02, 1990	Astro Observatory (ASTRO 1 & 2) The "Astro Observatory" was developed as a system of telescopes that could fly multiple times on the space shuttle....	Past
19901202 December 02, 1990	BBXRT The Broad Band X-ray Telescope (BBXRT) was the first focusing X-ray telescope to operate over a broad energy range (0.3-12 keV) with moderate energy resolution. BBXRT was...	Past
19910405 April 05, 1991	CGRO Compton Gamma Ray Observatory mission studied very energetic celestial phenomena: solar flares, cosmic gamma-ray bursts, pulsars, nova and supernova explosions, accreting...	Past
19990724 July 23, 1999	Chandra Chandra explores the hot turbulent regions in space with images 25 times sharper than previous x-ray pictures. Chandra is performing detailed studies of black holes,...	Operating
20030429 April 28, 2003	GALEX Galaxy Evolution Explorer (GALEX)  is exploring the origin and evolution of galaxies and the origins of stars and heavy elements, and is also conducting an all-sky...	Operating
19970212 February 12, 1997	HALCA HALCA is a spacecraft with a radio telescope in orbit to co-observe astronomical objects with radio telescopes on Earth. The project synthesizes a radio telescope as large as...	Past
20081101 October 31, 2008	Herschel The Herschel Space Observatory is a space-based telescope that will study the Universe by the light of the far-infrared and submillimeter portions of the spectrum. It is...	Development
19890808 August 08, 1989	Hipparcos Hipparcos was a European Space Agency mission dedicated to the precise measurement of the positions, parallaxes and proper motions of the stars....	Past
19900425 April 24, 1990	Hubble Space Telescope Hubble Space Telescope (HST), an ultraviolet, visible and infrared orbiting telescope, has expanded our understanding of star birth, star death, and galaxy evolution, and has...	Operating
19981029 October 29, 1998	IEH-3 Seven experiments made up the IEH-3 payload on the STS-95 Space Shuttle mission. The seven hitchhiker experiments were attached to a carrier system in the bay of the Shuttle...	Past
19780126 January 26, 1978	IUE The International Ultraviolet Explorer (IUE) satellite launched in 1978 and was a unique space observatory in that it was operated like a ground-based observatory....	Past
20010101 2001	Keck Interferometer The Keck Interferometer is part of NASA's overall effort to find planets and ultimately life beyond our solar system. It combines the light from the twin Keck telescopes to ...	Operating
20090217 February 16, 2009	Kepler The Kepler Mission is a space mission specifically designed to detect Earth-size planets around stars in the solar neighborhood of the Galaxy. This mission is part of the...	Development
	LISA The Laser Interferometer Space Antenna (LISA) is a space-based observatory that will allow us to view the Universe in a new spectrum, that of gravitational radiation. This...	Under Study
19961120 November 20, 1996	ORFEUS-SPAS II ORFEUS-SPAS II mission conducted investigations of celestial sources in the far and extreme ultraviolet spectral range, and to increase understanding of the evolution of...	Past
19900601 June 01, 1990	ROSAT The ROentgen SATellite, was an X-ray observatory developed through a cooperative program between the Germany, the United States, and the United...	Past
19951231 December 30, 1995	RXTE Rossi X-ray Timing Explorer studies variability over time in the emission of X-ray sources, with moderate spectral resolution. This time behavior is a source of important...	Operating
	SIM SIM PlanetQuest (formerly called Space Interferometry Mission), will determine the positions of stars and planets several hundred times more accurately than any previous...	Under Study
20090602 June 01, 2009	SOFIA SOFIA is an airborne observatory that will study the universe in the infrared spectrum. This mission is part of SMD's Cosmic Origins...	Development
19951203 December 02, 1995	SoHO Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO)  is a solar observatory studying the structure, chemical composition, and dynamics of the solar interior. SOHO a joint venture of...	Operating
20030826 August 25, 2003	Spitzer Spitzer Space Telescope (formerly known as SIRTF) conducts infrared astronomy from space. From an unusual heliocentric orbit designed to keep its sensitive instruments away...	Operating
19981206 December 06, 1998	SWAS The Submillimeter Wave Astronomy Satellite (SWAS) instrument is a submillimeter wave telescope that incorporates dual heterodyne radiometers and an acousto-optical...	Past
	TPF Terrestrial Planet Finder observatories will study the particular characteristics of many planets outside our solar system: from their formation and development in disks of...	Under Study
20091103 November 02, 2009	WISE WISE is a NASA-funded scientific research project that will provide a vast storehouse of knowledge about the solar system, the Milky Way, and the Universe. Among the objects...	Development

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