SkyScopes Space Telescope and Hubble Information Page

Compton Gamma Ray Observatory The Comptons Gamma Ray Observatory was the second of NASA's Great Observatories. Compton, at 17 tons, was the heaviest astrophotography payload ever flown at the time of its launch on April 5, 1991 aboard the space shuttle Atlantis.

Chandra X-Ray Observatory NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory, which was launched and deployed by Space Shuttle Columbia in July of 1999, is the most sophisticated X-ray observatory built to date. Chandra is designed to observe X-rays from high energy regions of the universe, such as hot gas in the remnants of exploded stars.

Far Ultraviolet Spectroscopic Explorer FUSE is a NASA-supported astronomy mission that was launched on June 24, 1999, to explore the Universe using the technique of high-resolution spectroscopy in the far-ultraviolet spectral region. The Johns Hopkins University has the lead role in developing and now operating the mission, in collaboration with The University of Colorado at Boulder, The University of California at Berkeley, international partners the Canadian Space Agency (CSA) and the French Space Agency (CNES), and corporate partners. FUSE is part of NASA's Origins Program under the auspices of NASA's Office of Space Science.

Hubble Site Nearly 400 years after Galileo first observed the heavens through a telescope, we continue to seek answers to age-old questions about the universe. And while the technology has evolved over the centuries, the inquiry remains essentially the same: What's out there, where did it come from, and what does it mean? At the Space Telescope Science Institute, we're working hard to study and explain the once-unimaginable celestial phenomena now made visible using Hubble's cutting-edge technology. In the course of this exploration we will continue to share with you the grace and beauty of the universeÅ because the discoveries belong to all of us.

Solar and Heliospheric Observatory SOHO was launched on December 2, 1995. The SOHO spacecraft was built in Europe by an industry team led by Matra, and instruments were provided by European and American scientists. There are nine European Principal Investigators (PI's) and three American ones. Large engineering teams and more than 200 co-investigators from many institutions support the PI's in the development of the instruments and in the preparation of their operations and data analysis. NASA is responsible for the launch and mission operations. Large radio dishes around the world which form NASA's Deep Space Network are used to track the spacecraft beyond the Earth's orbit. Mission control is based at Goddard Space Flight Center in Maryland.

XMM-Newton The world's astronomers are eager to use XMM-Newton. After launch from Kourou, French Guiana on 10 December 1999, the European Space Agency's X-ray Multi-Mirror satellite is the most powerful X-ray telescope ever placed in orbit. Scientists are sure the mission will help solve many cosmic mysteries, ranging from enigmatic black holes to the formation of galaxies.