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Spitzer Space Telescope

NASA's fourth Great Observatory studied the universe in infrared from an Earth-trailing solar orbit. Originally launched as SIRTF, it was renamed Spitzer and continued as the Warm Mission after cryogen depletion until retirement in 2020.

Spitzer Space Telescope
NASA/JPL-Caltech · The exact NASA Science resource https://science.nasa.gov/resource/spitzer-space-telescope-artists-concept/ identifies this artist concept of the Spitzer Space Telescope and credits NASA/JPL-Caltech. The stored image is a crop and resized derivative of the direct NASA asset https://assets.science.nasa.gov/dynamicimage/assets/science/psd/solar/2023/09/s/sig16-14.jpg. NASA Images and Media Usage Guidelines say NASA content generally is not subject to copyright in the United States and may be used factually or informationally with NASA acknowledgement; commercial use must not imply NASA endorsement. NASA insignia, logotypes, and identifiers are protected, and any separately identified third-party material requires its own permission; do not use this asset as an endorsement or separately use NASA identifiers. · Source
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Identity

Aliases
SpitzerSpace Infrared Telescope FacilitySIRTFSpitzer Warm MissionSpitzer Beyond
Name
Spitzer Space Telescope
Status
completed

Details

Astronauts
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Description
NASA's fourth Great Observatory studied the universe in infrared from an Earth-trailing solar orbit. Originally launched as SIRTF, it was renamed Spitzer and continued as the Warm Mission after cryogen depletion until retirement in 2020.
Destination
Earth-trailing heliocentric orbit at approximately 0.996–1.019 AU for infrared observations of asteroids, comets, planets, exoplanets, and distant galaxies
End Date
2020-01-30
Launch Site
Outcome
Success. Spitzer operated for more than 16 years instead of its planned two-and-a-half-year mission, achieved all prime objectives, captured direct light from exoplanets, identified Saturn's Phoebe ring, and helped characterize the seven Earth-size planets of TRAPPIST-1. Its public archive continues to support discoveries.
Programs
Start Date
2003-08-25
Vehicle Families

Links

Official Url
https://science.nasa.gov/mission/spitzer/

Assets & Meta

Creation Time
July 17, 2026 at 00:53:39 UTC
Updated Time
August 22, 2026 at 13:24:58 UTC
Image
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Other

Affiliations
Search Name
Spitzer Space Telescope Spitzer Space Infrared Telescope Facility SIRTF Spitzer Warm Mission Spitzer Beyond
Space Stations
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Vehicles