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Spitzer Space Telescope

retired

Science ExplorationinterplanetaryCOSPAR 2003-038ALaunched 8/25/2003

Mission & Launch

Launch Mission: SIRTF
Launch Vehicle: Delta 7920H
Launch Date: 8/25/2003
Last Contact: 1/29/2020

Orbit & Mass

Orbit Class: interplanetary
Altitude: -1,042,127 km
Inclination: 31.5 deg
Dry Mass: 851 kg
Total Mass: 922 kg

Payload Classification

Mission Type: Science Exploration
Payload Category: AST
Payload Class: C

Organizations

Operator: NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory
Manufacturer: Lockheed Martin

Registry

COSPAR ID: 2003-038A
UN Registration: ST/SG/SER.E/437

Mentions

5

All verified mentions of this spacecraft in source documents.

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The Spitzer Space Telescope was decommissioned in 2020, a year before the James Webb Space Telescope launched.

PlanGeneralValue 2.0Jan 16, 2026Superheavy-lift rockets like SpaceX's Starship could transform astronomy by making space telescopes cheaper

NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope was launched in 2003, originally named the Space Infrared Telescope Facility (SIRTF).

GeneralValue 3.0Oct 21, 2024Britain in the early history of the James Webb Space Telescope

JPL managed the Spitzer Space Telescope mission for NASA’s Science Mission Directorate until the mission was retired in January 2020.

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NASA’s Spitzer Space Telescope operated from 2003 to 2020 and was named in honor of Lyman Spitzer Jr.

GeneralValue 2.6Aug 22, 202250 years have passed for NASA’s Copernicus satellite which set the bar for space astronomy

The Spitzer Space Telescope was launched in 2003 as one of NASA’s original Great Observatories.

GeneralValue 3.0Jun 12, 2019NASA to adjust SOFIA operations to improve productivity