AntarikshPedia
SIRTF / Spitzer

2001–2012: Planetary Exploration Becomes Persistent

SIRTF / Spitzer

Great Observatory infrared mission.

Era 4 of 6 · full record in the catalog

Launch
year known only: 2003
Lead / partner
United States
Target
Earth-trailing orbit
Category
Infrared astronomy
Status
Success
Vehicle
Delta II 7920H
Mass
unknown
Orbit / trajectory
Heliocentric
Duration
Planned: 2.5 to 5+ years Primary mission: Final:

Why it happened

SIRTF / Spitzer flew during 2001–2012: Planetary Exploration Becomes Persistent, as part of United States's work toward earth-trailing orbit. A sourced write-up of the context around this mission is still on the editorial queue; nothing here is invented to fill the gap.

The mission

The full narrative of this mission is pending research and writing. What is recorded so far: Great Observatory infrared mission.

Results

Great Observatory infrared mission.

Related missions

SIRTF / Spitz… Herschel — same_program Herschel Hayabusa — competitor Hayabusa Mars Express / Beagle 2 — competitor Mars Express … SMART-1 — competitor SMART-1

Sources & image credits

  • Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/S. Stolovy (Spitzer Science Center/, via Wikimedia Commons · Public domain · license: public-domain (source, checked 2026-08-23)
  • Mission record: AntarikshPedia canonical dataset (data-sources/missions_timeline.md)
  • Specifications reference: NASA NSSDCA Master Catalog