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A space observatory is any instrument in outer space
Outer space

Outer space comprises the relatively empty regions of the universe outside the atmospheres of celestial bodies. Outer space is used to distinguish it from airspace and terrestrial locations....
 which is used for observation of distant planets, galaxies, and other outer space objects. This category is distinct from other observatories located in space that are pointed toward the earth for the purpose of reconnaissance
Spy satellite

A spy satellite is an Earth observation satellite or communications satellite deployed for military or espionage applications. These are essentially Space observatory that are pointed toward the Earth instead of toward the stars....
 and other types of information gathering
Earth observation satellite

Earth observation satellites are satellites specifically designed to observe Earth from orbit, similar toreconnaissance satellites but intended for non-military uses such as natural environmental monitoring, meteorology, map making etc....
.

rge number of observatories have been launched into orbit, and most of them have greatly enhanced our knowledge of the Cosmos.






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A space observatory is any instrument in outer space
Outer space

Outer space comprises the relatively empty regions of the universe outside the atmospheres of celestial bodies. Outer space is used to distinguish it from airspace and terrestrial locations....
 which is used for observation of distant planets, galaxies, and other outer space objects. This category is distinct from other observatories located in space that are pointed toward the earth for the purpose of reconnaissance
Spy satellite

A spy satellite is an Earth observation satellite or communications satellite deployed for military or espionage applications. These are essentially Space observatory that are pointed toward the Earth instead of toward the stars....
 and other types of information gathering
Earth observation satellite

Earth observation satellites are satellites specifically designed to observe Earth from orbit, similar toreconnaissance satellites but intended for non-military uses such as natural environmental monitoring, meteorology, map making etc....
.

Introduction

A large number of observatories have been launched into orbit, and most of them have greatly enhanced our knowledge of the Cosmos. Performing astronomy
Astronomy

Astronomy is the science of Astronomical object and Phenomenon that originate outside the Earth's atmosphere . It is concerned with the evolution, physics, chemistry, meteorology, and motion of celestial objects, as well as the physical cosmology....
 from the Earth
Earth

Earth is the third planet from the Sun. Earth is the largest of the terrestrial planets in the Solar System in diameter, mass and density. It is also referred to as the World and Wiktionary:Terra.Note that by International Astronomical Union convention, the term "Terra" is used for naming extensive land masses, rather...
's surface is limited by the filtering and distortion of electromagnetic radiation
Electromagnetic radiation

Electromagnetic radiation takes the form of wave propagation waves in a vacuum or in matter. EM radiation has an electric field and magnetic field component which oscillate in phase perpendicular to each other and to the direction of energy Wave propagation....
 due to the Earth
Earth

Earth is the third planet from the Sun. Earth is the largest of the terrestrial planets in the Solar System in diameter, mass and density. It is also referred to as the World and Wiktionary:Terra.Note that by International Astronomical Union convention, the term "Terra" is used for naming extensive land masses, rather...
's atmosphere
Earth's atmosphere

The Earth's atmosphere is a layer of gases surrounding the planet Earth that is retained by the Earth's gravity. Dry air contains roughly 78.08% nitrogen, 20.95% oxygen, 0.93% argon, 0.038% Carbon dioxide in the Earth's atmosphere, and trace amounts of other gases....
. This makes it desirable to place astronomical observation devices into space. As a telescope
Telescope

A telescope is an instrument designed for the observation of remote objects by the collection of electromagnetic radiation. The first known practically functioning telescopes were invented in the Netherlands at the beginning of the 17th century....
 orbit
ORBit

ORBit is a Common Object Request Broker Architecture 2.4 compliant Object Request Broker . It features mature C , C++ and Python bindings, and less developed bindings for Perl, Lisp , Pascal , Ruby , and Tcl....
s the Earth outside the atmosphere it is subject neither to twinkling (distortion due to thermal turbulences of the air) nor to light pollution
Light pollution

Light pollution, also known as photopollution or luminous pollution, is excessive or obtrusive artificial light. The International Dark-Sky Association , "The Light Pollution Authority," defines light pollution as: It obscures the stars in the night sky for city dwellers, interferes with astronomy observatory, and, like an...
 from artificial light sources on the Earth. Some terrestrial telescopes (such as the Very Large Telescope
Very Large Telescope

The Very Large Telescope is a system of four separate optical telescopes organized in an array formation, built and operated by the European Southern Observatory at the Paranal Observatory on Cerro Paranal, a 2,635 m high mountain in the Atacama desert in northern Chile....
) can counter turbulences with the help of their novel adaptive optics
Adaptive optics

Adaptive optics is a technology used to improve the performance of optics by reducing the effects of rapidly changing optical distortion. It is used in astronomical telescopes and laser communication systems to remove the effects of atmospheric distortion, and in retinal imaging systems to reduce the impact of ocular aberrations....
.

But space-based astronomy is even more important for frequency ranges which are outside of the optic window and the radio window
Radio window

The radio window is the range of frequencies of electromagnetic radiation that the earth's atmosphere lets through. The wavelengths in the radio window run from about one centimeter to about eleven-meter waves....
, the only two wavelength ranges of the electromagnetic spectrum
Electromagnetic spectrum

The electromagnetic spectrum is the range of all possible electromagnetic radiation frequencies. The "electromagnetic spectrum" of an object is the characteristic distribution of electromagnetic radiation from that particular object....
 that are not severely attenuated by the atmosphere. For example, X-ray astronomy
X-ray astronomy

X-ray astronomy is an observational branch of astronomy, which deals with the study of X-ray emission from celestial objects. X-ray radiation is absorbed by the Earth's Earth's atmosphere, so instruments to observe X-rays must be taken to high altitude, in the past with balloons and sounding rockets....
 is nearly impossible when done from the Earth, and has reached its current important stand within astronomy only due to orbiting satellite
Satellite

In the context of spaceflight, a satellite is an Physical body which has been placed into orbit by human endeavor. Such objects are sometimes called artificial satellites to distinguish them from natural satellites such as the Moon....
s with X-ray telescopes such as the Chandra observatory or XMM-Newton observatory
XMM-Newton

The XMM-Newton is an orbiting X-ray space observatory, named in honor of Sir Isaac Newton.Originally known as the High Throughput X-ray Spectroscopy Mission, it was launched by the European Space Agency from the Guiana Space Centre at Kourou on 10 December 1999 by an Ariane 5 rocket....
. Infrared
Infrared

Infrared radiation is electromagnetic radiation whose wavelength is longer than that of visible light , but shorter than that of terahertz radiation and microwaves ....
 and ultraviolet
Ultraviolet

Ultraviolet light is electromagnetic radiation with a wavelength shorter than that of visible light, but longer than x-rays, in the range 400 nanometer to 10 nm, and energies from 3 Electron volt to 124 eV....
 are also greatly blocked.

Space observatories can generally be divided into two classes: missions which map the entire sky (surveys), and observatories which make observations of chosen parts of the sky.

Many space observatories have already completed their missions, while others are still operating. Satellites have been launched and operated by NASA
NASA

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration is an agency of the Federal government of the United States, responsible for the nation's public list of space agencies....
, ESA
European Space Agency

The European Space Agency , established in 1975, is an intergovernmentalism organisation dedicated to the Space exploration, currently with 18 member states....
, Japanese Space Agency and the Soviet space program
Soviet space program

The Soviet space program consisted of initiatives within the Soviet Union by competing design groups. Being primarily a military program, it was classified....
 later succeeded by Roskosmos of Russia.

NASA's Great Observatories


Satellites belonging to NASA's "Great Observatories" program:

  • The Space Telescope (ST), now known as Hubble Space Telescope
    Hubble Space Telescope

    The Hubble Space Telescope is a Space observatory that was carried into Low Earth orbit STS-31 in April 1990. It is named after the American astronomer Edwin Hubble....
     (HST) is the optical Great Observatory. Launched April 24 1990. ESA (the European Space Agency
    European Space Agency

    The European Space Agency , established in 1975, is an intergovernmentalism organisation dedicated to the Space exploration, currently with 18 member states....
    ) is NASA's partner in the HST project.


  • The Gamma ray
    Gamma ray

    Gamma rays are a form of electromagnetic radiation produced by atom particle interactions, such as electron-positron annihilation or radioactive decay....
     Observatory (GRO), since renamed to The Compton Gamma-Ray Observatory, had to be disposed of after several years of productive life. Its gyroscope
    Gyroscope

    A gyroscope is a device for measuring or maintaining orientation , based on the principles of angular momentum. The device is a spinning wheel or disk whose axle is free to take any orientation....
    s began to fail and when it was down to its last gyroscope, the choice was to risk losing control or destroying the observatory. NASA de-orbited the bus-sized satellite
    Satellite

    In the context of spaceflight, a satellite is an Physical body which has been placed into orbit by human endeavor. Such objects are sometimes called artificial satellites to distinguish them from natural satellites such as the Moon....
     into the Pacific Ocean
    Pacific Ocean

    The Pacific Ocean is the largest of the Earth's oceanic divisions. Its name is derived from the Latin name Mare Pacificum, "peaceful sea", bestowed upon it by the Portugal explorer Ferdinand Magellan....
     in 2000.


  • X-Rays
    X-ray

    X-radiation is a form of electromagnetic radiation. X-rays have a wavelength in the range of 10 to 0.01 nanometers, corresponding to frequency in the range 30 Hertz to 30 Hertz and energies in the range 120 Electron volt to 120 keV....
     are also represented in the Great Observatories, with the Chandra X-ray Observatory
    Chandra X-ray Observatory

    The Chandra X-ray Observatory is a satellite launched on STS-93 by NASA on July 23, 1999. It was named in honor of Indian-United States physicist Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar who is known for determining the Chandrasekhar limit for white dwarf stars to become neutron stars....
     (CXO), renamed (from AXAF - Advanced X-Ray Astrophysics Facility) in honor of the Indian astrophysicist Chandrasekhar
    Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar

    Padma Vibhushan Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar, Fellow of the Royal Society , English ) was an Non-resident Indian and Person of Indian Origin born United States astrophysicist....
    . This has been used to great effect to study distant galaxies
    Galaxy

    A galaxy is a massive, gravitation system that consists of stars and stellar remnants, an interstellar medium of gas and cosmic dust, and an important but poorly-understood component tentatively dubbed dark matter....
     and is still operational.


  • The Space Infrared
    Infrared

    Infrared radiation is electromagnetic radiation whose wavelength is longer than that of visible light , but shorter than that of terahertz radiation and microwaves ....
     Telescope Facility, (SIRTF), launched on August 24, 2003 is the fourth observatory, and is called the Spitzer Space Telescope
    Spitzer Space Telescope

    The Spitzer Space Telescope is an infrared space observatory. It is the fourth and final of NASA's Great Observatories program.The planned nominal mission period was to be 2.5 years with a pre-launch expectation that the mission could extend to five or slightly more years until the onboard liquid helium supply was exhausted....
     (SST)


Other active space observatories


  • SOHO
    Solar and Heliospheric Observatory

    The Solar and Heliospheric Observatory is a spacecraft that was launched on a Lockheed Martin Atlas II launch vehicle on December 2, 1995 to study the Sun, and began normal operations in May 1996....
     - solar observatory, operational since 1995, used for the study of the Sun
    Sun

    The Sun , a G V star, is the star at the center of the Solar System. The Earth and other matter orbit the Sun, which by itself accounts for about 98.6% of the Solar System's mass....
    's corona and magnetic environments. SOHO has revolutionised our knowledge of the Sun.


  • WMAP
    Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe

    The Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe ? also known as the Microwave Anisotropy Probe , and Explorer 80 ? measures differences in the cosmic microwave background radiation of the Big Bang's remnant radiant heat across the full sky....
     (Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe) - probes Big Bang by analyzing cosmic background radiation. In operation since 2001.


MOST
Microvariability and Oscillations of STars telescope

The Microvariability and Oscillations of STars telescope, better known simply as MOST, is Canada's first and only space telescope. It is also the smallest space telescope in the world ....
 (Microvariability and Oscillations of STars telescope) the smallest space telescope in the world, the size of a small chest or very large suitcase. Launched in 2003; expected to operate five years.

Swift
Swift Gamma-Ray Burst Mission

The Swift Gamma-Ray Burst Mission consists of a robotic spacecraft called Swift, which was launched into orbit on 20 November 2004, 17:16:00 UTC on the Delta II 7320-10C series expendable launch vehicle....
 (Swift Gamma-Ray Burst Mission) - launched in 2004 to detect and study gamma ray bursts.

ASTRO-EII (Suzaku) - launched in February 2006, suffered a mechanical fault a month after launch. Designed for high-resolution wide-band spectroscopy, it is operating at reduced levels.

AKARI
Akari

* AKARI, in astronomy, is an infrared astronomy satellite developed by JAXA, in cooperation with institutes of Europe and Korea.* AKARI Project, in telecommunications, refers to the AKARI Architecture Design Project of Japan....
 (ASTRO-F
ASTRO-F

AKARI is an infrared astronomy space observatory developed by Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, in cooperation with institutes of Europe and Korea....
) - launched in February 2006, intened to deep-map the entire sky in mid infrared and far infrared wavelengths.

  • COROT
    Corot (space mission)

    COROT is a space mission led by the CNES in conjunction with the European Space Agency and other international partners. The mission's two objectives are to search for extrasolar planets with short orbital periods, particularly those of large terrestrial planet, and to perform asteroseismology by measuring solar-like oscillations in stars....
     - observatory launched in December 2006. It is the first mission to search for rocky worlds around other stars.


Kepler
Kepler Mission

The Kepler Mission is a NASA space telescope designed to search for Terrestrial planets orbiting other stars. Using a outer space photometer developed by NASA, it will observe the brightness of over 100,000 stars over 3.5 years to detect periodic Astronomical transit of a star by its planets ....
 - space
Outer space

Outer space comprises the relatively empty regions of the universe outside the atmospheres of celestial bodies. Outer space is used to distinguish it from airspace and terrestrial locations....
 photometer
Photometer

In its widest sense, a photometer is an instrument for measuring Light intensity or optical properties of solutions or surfaces. Photometers are used to measure:...
 launched in March 2009 to detect Earth-like and smaller planets by the transit method.

Decommissioned space observatories


  • Uhuru
    Uhuru (satellite)

    Uhuru was the first satellite launched specifically for the purpose of X-ray astronomy. It was also known as the X-ray Explorer Satellite, SAS-1 , or Explorer 42....
     (SAS-1) - the first X-ray space observatory. Operated 1970-1973.


  • Orion 1 and Orion 2 Space Observatories
    Orion 1 and Orion 2 Space Observatories

    The Orion 1 Space Observatory and Orion 2 Space Observatory were space observatory installed in spacecraft launched by the Soviet space program of the Soviet Union during the 1970s....
    , operated from aboard the space station Salyut 1
    Salyut 1

    Salyut 1 was the first space station of any kind, and the first Soviet space station. It was launched on April 19, 1971. Its first crew launched in Soyuz 10 but was unable to board it due to a failure in the docking mechanism; its second crew launched in Soyuz 11 and remained on board for 23 productive days....
     in 1971 and the Soyuz 13
    Soyuz 13

    Soyuz 13 was a second test flight of the redesigned Soyuz 7K-T spacecraft that first flew as Soyuz 12. This particular spacecraft was further specially modified to carry the Orion 1 and Orion 2 Space Observatories....
     spacecraft in 1973, respectively.


  • SAS-2
    Second Small Astronomy Satellite

    The Second Small Astronomy Satellite, also known also as SAS-2, SAS B or Explorer 48, was a NASA gamma ray telescope. It was launched on 15 November 1972 into low Earth orbit with a periapsis of 443 km and an apoapsis of 632 km)....
     - gamma-ray observatory, also known as Explorer 48. Operated 1972-1973.


ANS
Astronomical Netherlands Satellite

The Astronomical Netherlands Satellite was a Satellite X-ray and ultraviolet telescope. It was launched into Earth orbit on 30 August 1974 at 14:07:39 UTC in a Scout from Vandenberg Air Force Base, United States....
 - X-ray and ultraviolet space observatory launched in 1974 and active until 1976; the first to detect X-ray bursts

  • SAS-3
    Third Small Astronomy Satellite

    The Third Small Astronomy Satellite was a space telescope operated by NASA. It functioned from May 1975 to April 1979. It covered the X-ray range and to this end had four X-ray experiments onboard....
     - X-ray space observatory, also known as Explorer 53. Operated 1975-1979.


HEAO 1 (High Energy Astronomy Observatory 1) - X-Ray space observatory, operational 1977-1979.

  • IUE
    International Ultraviolet Explorer

    The International Ultraviolet Explorer was an astronomical observatory satellite primarily designed to take ultraviolet Electromagnetic spectrum....
     (International Ultraviolet Explorer) - multinational observatory launched in 1978. Though intended for a planned lifetime of only 3 years, not deactivated until 1996.


HEAO 2
Einstein Observatory

Einstein Observatory was the first fully imaging X-ray telescope put into space and the second of NASA's three High Energy Astrophysical Observatories....
 (Einstein Observatory) - X-Ray space observatory, operational 1978-1982.

HEAO 3
High Energy Astronomy Observatory 3

The last of NASA three High Energy Astrophysics Observatory, HEAO 3 was launched 20 September 1979 on an Atlas-Centaur launch vehicle, into a nearly circular, 43.6 degree inclination low-Earth orbit with an initial perigee of 486.4 km....
 (High Energy Astronomy Observatory 3) - X-Ray space observatory, operational 1979-?.

  • IRAS
    IRAS

    The Infrared Astronomical Satellite was the first-ever space-based observatory to perform a astronomical survey of the entire sky at infrared wavelengths....
     (Infrared Astronomical Satellite) - launched in 1983, it carried out the first all-sky infrared survey, as well as discovering disks of dust and gas around many nearby star
    Star

    A star is a massive, luminous ball of Plasma that is held together by its own gravity. The nearest star to Earth is the Sun, which is the source of most of the energy on Earth....
    s, including Fomalhaut
    Fomalhaut

    Fomalhaut is the brightest star in the constellation Piscis Austrinus and list of brightest stars in the sky. Fomalhaut can be seen low in the southern sky in the northern hemisphere in the fall/winter....
    , Vega
    Vega

    Vega is the brightest star in the constellation Lyra, the list of brightest stars in the night sky and the second brightest star in the northern Celestial sphere, after Arcturus....
     and Beta Pictoris
    Beta Pictoris

    Beta Pictoris is the second brightest star in the constellation Pictor. It is located 63.4 light years from our solar system, and is 1.75 times as massive and 8.7 times as luminosity as the Sun....
    . Ceased functioning after ten months.


  • EXOSAT
    EXOSAT

    The Exosat satellite was operational from May 1983 until April 1986 and in that time made 1780 observations in the X-ray band of most classes of astronomical object including active galactic nuclei, stellar coronae, cataclysmic variables, white dwarfs, X-ray binaries, cluster of galaxies, and supernova remnants....
     - X-ray observatory, active 1983-1986.


  • Astron
    Astron (spacecraft)

    Astron was a USSR astrophysics spacecraft launched on March 23 1983 at 12:45:06 UTC by Proton . It was based on Venera spacecraft design. Astron was operational for six years being the largest ultraviolet space telescope of that time....
     - ultraviolet telescope, operated from 1983 to 1989.


  • Granat
    Granat

    The International Astrophysical Observatory "GRANAT" , was a Soviet Union space observatory developed in collaboration with France, Denmark and Bulgaria....
     - x- and gamma-ray telescope complex, operated from 1989 to 1998.


  • - Hipparcos
    Hipparcos

    Hipparcos was a scientific mission of the European Space Agency , launched in 1989 and operated between 1989 and 1993. It was the first space experiment devoted to astrometry, the accurate measurement of star positions, parallaxes, and proper motions....
     - satellite for measuring stellar parallax
    Parallax

    Parallax is an apparent displacement or difference of orientation of an object viewed along two different lines of sight, and is measured by the angle or semi-angle of inclination between those two lines....
    , active 1989-1993. Despite significant operational problems, it revised the Cepheid variable star distance scale to great accuracy and has been invaluable for all branches of observational astronomy
    Astronomy

    Astronomy is the science of Astronomical object and Phenomenon that originate outside the Earth's atmosphere . It is concerned with the evolution, physics, chemistry, meteorology, and motion of celestial objects, as well as the physical cosmology....
     by furnishing scientists with extremely accurate "standard candles" for measuring distances.


  • ISO
    Infrared Space Observatory

    The Infrared Space Observatory was a space telescope for infrared light designed and operated by the European Space Agency , in cooperation with ISAS and National Aeronautics and Space Administration....
     (Infrared Space Observatory) - 1995-1998 follow-on mission to IRAS; like it, carried out observations at infra-red wavelengths.


FUSE
Far Ultraviolet Spectroscopic Explorer

The Far Ultraviolet Spectroscopic Explorer is a space-based telescope operated by the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory. FUSE was launched on a Delta II rocket on June 24, 1999, as a part of NASA's Origins program....
 - operated from 1999 to 2007, making observations in the far UV portion of the spectrum.

  • SCISAT-1
    SCISAT-1

    SCISAT-1 is a Canadian satellite designed to make observations of the Earth's atmosphere. Its most important instrument is an optical Fourier transform infrared spectrometer, the ACE-FTS Instrument....
     - analyzed Earth's upper atmosphere with an optical Fourier transform infrared spectrometer
    Spectrometer

    A spectrograph is an optical instrument used to measure properties of light over a specific portion of the electromagnetic spectrum, typically used in spectroscopic analysis to identify materials....
    . Active 2003-2005.


Future space observatories


  • The Herschel Space Observatory
    Herschel Space Observatory

    The Herschel Space Observatory is a European Space Agency mission originally proposed in 1982 by a consortium of European scientists that included Thijs de Graauw , Gisbert Winnewisser , Michael Rowan-Robinson , Glenn White , and Malcolm Longair ....
     will be launched by the European Space Agency
    European Space Agency

    The European Space Agency , established in 1975, is an intergovernmentalism organisation dedicated to the Space exploration, currently with 18 member states....
     in 2009 to study the far infrared and submillimetre wavelengths.


  • The James Webb Space Telescope
    James Webb Space Telescope

    The James Webb Space Telescope is a planned space infrared observatory, the successor to the aging Hubble Space Telescope. The main scientific goal is to observe the most distant objects in the universe, those beyond the reach of either ground based instruments or the Hubble....
     is intended to replace the Hubble Space Telescope
    Hubble Space Telescope

    The Hubble Space Telescope is a Space observatory that was carried into Low Earth orbit STS-31 in April 1990. It is named after the American astronomer Edwin Hubble....
     and is planned for launch no earlier than June 2013.


  • The World Space Observatory
    World Space Observatory

    The World Space Observatory - Ultraviolet is a proposed space telescope intended for work in the 110nm to 320nm wavelength range, to complement the JWST which is a larger but infrared-optimised instrument....
     is intended to provide capabilities that the Hubble Space Telescope
    Hubble Space Telescope

    The Hubble Space Telescope is a Space observatory that was carried into Low Earth orbit STS-31 in April 1990. It is named after the American astronomer Edwin Hubble....
     has and the James Webb Space Telescope
    James Webb Space Telescope

    The James Webb Space Telescope is a planned space infrared observatory, the successor to the aging Hubble Space Telescope. The main scientific goal is to observe the most distant objects in the universe, those beyond the reach of either ground based instruments or the Hubble....
     lacks, with a launch planned sometime after 2010.


ESA candidate observatories in the 2015-2025 timeframe


  • DUNE, intended to survey the entire sky in the optical and infra-red wavelength at a uniform 0.1 arcsecond resolution to allow accurate measurements of gravitational lensing to determine the distribution of dark matter
    Dark matter

    In astronomy and physical cosmology, dark matter is Hypothesis matter that is undetectable by its emitted electromagnetic radiation, but whose presence can be inferred from gravity effects on visible matter....
     within galaxy clusters
  • SPACE, intended to take near-IR spectra of half a billion galaxies
  • PLATO, a sequel to Kepler and Corot comprising many small telescopes with large CCD detectors on a single spacecraft, intended to provide precision photometry over a thousand square degrees of sky. This is similar to the cancelled Eddington mission
    Eddington mission

    The Eddington mission was a European Space Agency project that planned to search for Earth-like planets. It was named for Arthur Eddington, a noted physicist who translated Einstein's work....
    .
  • SPICA, in collaboration with the Japanese space agency; this is a large infra-red telescope with cryogenic optics designed to work with unprecedented sensitivity in the 5-200um wavelength range.
  • XEUS
    XEUS

    XEUS is the X-ray Evolving Universe Spectroscopy space observatory that is being developed by the European Space Agency as a successor to the successful XMM-Newton X-ray satellite telescope....
    , a X-ray space observatory with the mirror (using micro-pore optics) and detectors on separate spacecraft flying in formation.


See also


  • Observatory
    Observatory

    An observatory is a location used for observing terrestrial and/or celestial events. Astronomy, climatology/meteorology, geology, oceanography and volcanology are examples of disciplines for which observatories have been constructed....
  • Timeline of artificial satellites and space probes
    Timeline of artificial satellites and space probes

    This Timeline of artificial satellites and space probes includes unmanned spacecraft including technology demonstrators, observatories, lunar probes, and interplanetary probes....
  • Timeline of telescopes, observatories, and observing technology
    Timeline of telescopes, observatories, and observing technology

    Timeline of telescopes, observatory, and observing technology....
  • List of space telescopes
    List of space telescopes

    This is a list of astronomy space telescopes. The list is divided up into the major frequency ranges: gamma ray, x-ray, ultraviolet, visible light, infrared, microwave and radio....


External links


  • retrieved May 13, 2008