OAO-2
OAO-2, nicknamed Stargazer, was NASA’s first successful cosmic observatory and the second Orbiting Astronomical Observatory. Launched on 1968-12-07, its Celescope and Wisconsin Experiment Package made the first orbital stellar observations in ultraviolet light, catalogued thousands of UV stars, and studied planets, galaxies, comets, and interstellar extinction above Earth’s atmosphere.
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Identity
- Aliases
- OAO 2Orbiting Astronomical Observatory 2StargazerOAO A2
- Name
- OAO-2
- Status
- completed
Details
- Astronauts
- -
- Description
- OAO-2, nicknamed Stargazer, was NASA’s first successful cosmic observatory and the second Orbiting Astronomical Observatory. Launched on 1968-12-07, its Celescope and Wisconsin Experiment Package made the first orbital stellar observations in ultraviolet light, catalogued thousands of UV stars, and studied planets, galaxies, comets, and interstellar extinction above Earth’s atmosphere.
- Destination
- Earth orbit
- Outcome
- NASA shut down OAO-2 operations in February 1973 after more than four years of successful ultraviolet and astronomical observations.
- Programs
- Start Date
- 1968-12-07
- Vehicle Families
Links
Assets & Meta
- Creation Time
- August 15, 2026 at 06:54:34 UTC
- Updated Time
- August 15, 2026 at 06:54:34 UTC
Other
- Affiliations
- Space Stations
- -
- Vehicles