Astronomy at Astra's Stargate

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James Webb Space Telescope (JWST)

The James Webb Space Telescope (a.k.a. JWST or Webb) is a large infrared telescope with a 6.5-meter primary mirror. It launched from the European Space Agency's spaceport in French Guiana on December 25, 2021. It was placed in orbit around the Sun-Earth L2 point. JSWT instruments include: Near-Infrared Camera (NIRCam), Near-Infrared Spectrograph (NIRSpec), Mid-Infrared Instrument (MIRI) and Fine Guidance Sensors (FGS) that help point the telescope.

Einstein Space Probe

The Einstein Probe mission is a collaboration between the Chinese Academy of Sciences, the European Space Agency (ESA), and the Max Planck Institute for Extraterrestrial Physics. Einstein Probe was launched on aLong March 2C rocket from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center in China on January 9, 2024. Orbiting at an altitude of 600 km, the Einstein Probe is an X-ray telescope. Do not confuse this space-based instrument with the Einstein Telescope being built on Earth to monitor gravity waves. This telescope uses two instruments, the Wide-field X-ray Telescope (WXT) that uses Lobster Eye Imager for Astronomy (LEIA) to scan the whole sky. Its second instrument is the Follow-up X-ray Telescope (FXT) that observes the x-ray sky in greater detail.

X-Ray Imaging and Spectroscopy Mission (XRISM)

The XRISM telescope and the Smart Lander for Investigating the Moon (SLIM) was launched September 6, 2023. The XRISM is a soft X-ray telescope, a collaboration between the Japanese Space Agency (JAXA), NASA, and the European Space Agency (ESA). The Resolve detector, developed at NASA Goddard, is an X-ray micro calorimeter and must be kept chilled to ~460 degrees F. (or 0.05K)! The second instrument on this spacecraft, Xtend is an X-ray CCD camera. To pronounce the mission properly, just say "crism". Unfortunately the door to the Resolve instrument has failed to open. The mission continues, but scientists are disappointed by the failure.

Aditya-L1 - ISRO Solar telescope

The Indian Research Space Organization launched Aditya L1, its first space-based solar observatory on September 2, 2023. The probe is headed for the Lagrangian point 1 (L1) of the Sun-Earth system where it will be placed in a halo orbit about 1.5 million km from the Earth. There it will be continuously viewing the Sun. The observatory carries seven instruments including a coronagraph, an ultra-violet telescope, a solar wind experiment, plasma analyser, spectrometers, and a magnetometer. Aditya means "Sun" in Sanskrit.

Euclid Space Telescope

The Euclid was launched by the European Space Agency (ESA) on July 1, 2023. Its mission is to map the universe to increase our knowledge of dark energy and dark matter. Euclid measures the shapes and redshifts of galaxies with a calculated "look-back time" of about 10 billion years. The Euclid has a 1.2-m-aperture telescope with two instruments: the VISual imager (VIS) and the Near-Infrared Spectrometer and Photometer (NISP).

Hubble Space Telescope (HST)

The Hubble Space Telescope was launched by NASA and has been in orbit since 1990. It has sent back countless gorgeous images. The 94.5 inch or 2.4 m mirror primarily works in the visible spectrum but also detects light in the near-infrared and near-ultraviolet specturm. It orbits at an altitude of 326 miles or 525 km, inclined at 28.5 degrees to the equator. Astronauts have serviced the space telescope on five missions using the Space Shuttle.

Chandra X-ray Observatory - or - Advanced X-ray Astrophysics Facility (AXAF)

The Chandra telescope system has four pairs of mirrors designed so that the energetic x-rays ricochet off their high precision walls. The High Resolution Camera (HRC) at the telescope's focus can make images that may reveal details as small as one-half an arc second (.5"). A second instrument at the focal plane is the Advanced CCD Imaging Spectrometer (ACIS). While making images, ACIS also measures the energy of each incoming X-ray. Two additional instruments are the High Energy Transmission Grating Spectrometer (HETGS) and the Low Energy Transmission Grating Spectrometer (LETGS) that are mounted so that they may be moved into position behind the mirrors; they help record and analyze X-ray images of celestial objects.

Solar and Heliospheric Observatory satellite

The SOHO solar observatory is collaboration between ESA and NASA to study the Sun from its deep core to the outer corona and the solar wind. It was launched on December 2, 1995. It has twelve instruments that were provided by European and American scientists. It has been observing the Sun for over 25 years.

Hisaki - or - Spectroscopic Planet Observatory for Recognition of Interaction of Atmosphere (SPRINT-A)

Hisaki is an Extreme Ultraviolet telescope that has been studying solar system planets for overt 10 years. Developed by the Japanese Space Agency this telescope makes ultraviolet observations of Venus, Mars, and Jupiter.

Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory - Ultraviolet/Optical Telescope (UVOT)

The Swift telescope studies GRBs or Gamma Ray Bursters. In October 2022, Swift detected a giant gamma ray emision originating from the direction of the constellation Sagitta. This GRB (GRB 221009A) traveled an estimated 1.9 billion years to reach Earth. Even at that distance it had as much affect on the Earth's atmosphere as the solar wind.

Future Telescopes

Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope (RGT)

Under development at Goddard Space Flight Center, the Roman telescope was previously known as Wide Field Infrared Survey Telescope (WFIRST). It is scheduled to be launched in 2027. This instrument has a 2.4m-diameter primary mirror and operates in the visible to near infrared regions of the electromagnetic spectrum. RST will study extra-solar planets, the expansion history of the Universe, dark energy.

Xuntian Space Telescope (XST)

Under development at the Changchun Institute of Optics, Fine Mechanics and Physics, Xuntian will orbit near China's Tiangong space station. The Xuntian telescope has a 2-meter primary mirror. It is scheduled to be launched in 2025.

Telescope for Orbit Locus Interferometric Monitoring of our Astronomical Neighbourhood (TOLIMAN) - Using astrometry to search for life around Alpha Centauri.

Mission Completed

Spitzer Space Telescope - formerly SIRTF

On January 30, 2020, Spitzer Space Telescope completed its mission.

Astro-2 and the Ultraviolet Imaging Telescope

Cosmic Background Explorer - COBE ended 1993

Extreme Ultraviolet Explorer (EUVE) - EUVE's all-sky survey catalog contained 801 objects

Hopkins Ultraviolet Telescope (HUT) - from Johns Hopkins University

Infrared Astronomical Satellite (IRAS) Infrared Space Observatory

Space Very Long Baseline Interferometry

Ulysses Solar Mission

Uhuru - The first X-ray telescope