Cosmic Origins

To observe the birth of the earliest galaxies, the formation of stars and their planetary systems in the Milky Way and other galaxies, and the origins of the elements necessary for life. Cosmic Origins tells the story of the processes that transpired from the Big Bang to the modern Universe. "How did we get here?"

Launch Date	A-Z	Phase
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
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
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
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
20130701 June 30, 2013	JWST James Webb Space Telescope (formerly the Next Generation Space Telescope) is designed for observations in the far visible to the mid infrared part of the spectrum. JWST will...	Development

National Aeronautics and Space Administration

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Cosmic Origins