ASCA was the first X-ray astronomy mission to combine imaging capability with a broad pass band, good spectral resolution, and a large effective area. The mission was also the first satellite to use CCDs for X-ray astronomy.

Astro-H is a powerful orbiting observatory being developed by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) for studying extremely energetic processes in the universe. NASA and the JAXA/Institute of Space and Astronautical Science have teamed up to develop a high resolution ...

The "Astro Observatory" was developed as a system of telescopes that could fly multiple times on the space shuttle.

The Broad Band X-ray Telescope (BBXRT) was the first focusing X-ray telescope to operate over a broad energy range (0.3-12 keV) with moderate energy resolution. BBXRT was flown on the space shuttle Columbia (STS-35) on December 2-11, 1990, as part ...

Compton Gamma Ray Observatory mission studied very energetic celestial phenomena: solar flares, cosmic gamma-ray bursts, pulsars, nova and supernova explosions, accreting black holes of stellar dimensions, quasar emission, and interactions of cosmic rays with the interstellar medium. Compton left a ...

Chandra explores the hot turbulent regions in space with images 25 times sharper than previous x-ray pictures. Chandra is performing detailed studies of black holes, supernovas, and dark matter, to increase our understanding of the origin, evolution, and destiny of ...

CHIPS launched on January 12, 2003 and carried out an all-sky spectroscopy of the diffuse background at wavelengths from 90 to 260 Å.

The COBE satellite was developed to measure the diffuse infrared and microwave radiation from the early universe, to the limits set by our astrophysical environment.

The primary objective of the Diffuse X-ray Spectrometer (DXS) payload was to obtain measurements on the diffuse soft X-ray background radiation in the Milky Way Galaxy. DXS flew successfully in January 1993 as a shuttle cargo bay attached payload.

The Extreme-Ultraviolet Explorer (EUVE) was a part of NASA's Explorer spacecraft series, and designed to operate in the extreme ultraviolet (EUV) range of the spectrum, from 70 - 760 Angstroms. The science payload consisted of three grazing incidence scanning telescopes ...

Fermi, NASA's most recent gamma-ray observatory has a wide window on the universe. Gamma rays are the highest-energy form of light, and the gamma-ray sky is spectacularly different from the one we perceive with our own eyes. With a huge ...

Far Ultraviolet Spectroscopic Explorer (FUSE) studied the far ultraviolet portion of the electromagnetic spectrum from high orbit. This range provided an opportunity to answer important questions about many types of astrophysical objects, such as the nuclear regions of active galaxies ...

Galaxy Evolution Explorer (GALEX) is exploring the origin and evolution of galaxies and the origins of stars and heavy elements, and is also conducting an all-sky ultraviolet survey. This mission is part of SMD's Astrophysics Explorers program. This mission is ...

GEMS will use an X-ray telescope to measure the polarization of the X-rays coming from the vicinity of compact objects in the universe: black holes and neutron stars and it will also study the remnants of massive stars which have ...

The GP-B satellite was designed as a pristine, space-borne laboratory, whose primary task was to use four ultra-precise gyroscopes to measure directly two effects predicted by general relativity.

HALCA is a spacecraft with a radio telescope in orbit to co-observe astronomical objects with radio telescopes on Earth. The project synthesizes a radio telescope as large as the size of the satellite’s orbit - about 40,000 kilometers.

The Herschel Space Observatory is a space-based telescope that will study the Universe by the light of the far-infrared and submillimeter portions of the spectrum. It is expected to reveal new information about the earliest, most distant stars and galaxies, ...

The prime objective of the HETE spacecraft was to carry out the first multiwavelength study of gamma-ray bursts with Ultraviolet, X-ray and gamma ray instruments. A unique feature of the mission was its capability to localize bursts with several arc-second ...

The High Energy Transient Explorer is a small scientific satellite designed to detect and localize gamma-ray bursts.

Hipparcos was a European Space Agency mission dedicated to the precise measurement of the positions, parallaxes and proper motions of the stars.

Hubble Space Telescope (HST), an ultraviolet, visible and infrared orbiting telescope, has expanded our understanding of star birth, star death, and galaxy evolution, and has helped move black holes from theory to fact. It has recorded over 100,000 images in ...

Seven experiments made up the IEH-3 payload on the STS-95 Space Shuttle mission. The seven hitchhiker experiments were attached to a carrier system in the bay of the Shuttle orbiter for the flight in space.

International Gamma-Ray Astrophysics Laboratory (INTEGRAL) seeks to unravel the secrets of the highest-energy - and therefore the most violent - phenomena in the Universe.

The Infrared Space Observatory (ISO), was a project of the European Space Agency (ESA), provided astronomers with a unique facility of unprecedented sensitivity for a detailed exploration of the universe ranging from objects in the solar system to the most ...

The International Ultraviolet Explorer (IUE) satellite launched in 1978 and was a unique space observatory in that it was operated like a ground-based observatory. Astronomers came to the Telescope Operations Center and directed their observations while observatory staff members commanded ...

International X-ray Observatory (IXO) has been designed to perform X-ray spectroscopy with unprecedented sensitivity and spectral resolution, to determine the flow of gas in accretion disks around black holes in active galactic nuclei and in binary X-ray sources, to measure ...

JDEM was a possible future mission to study the expansion history of the universe. It was not selected as one of the ranked recommendations of the 2010 Decadal survey.

The Kuiper Airborne Observatory (KAO) was a national facility operated by NASA to support research in infrared astronomy. The observatory was a highly modified C141 cargo aircraft that acquired scientific data between 1975 and 1995.

The Keck Interferometer is part of NASA's overall effort to find planets and ultimately life beyond our solar system. It combines the light from the twin Keck telescopes to make high resolution measurements of stars and galaxies and to measure ...

The Kepler Mission, a NASA Discovery mission, is specifically designed to survey our region of the Milky Way Galaxy to detect and characterize hundreds of Earth-size and smaller planets in or nearby the habitable zone.

The Large Binocular Telescope Interferometer (LBTI) is part of NASA's effort to find planets and ultimately life beyond our solar system. It combines the light from the twin telescope mirrors to make high resolution measurements of stars and galaxies and ...

Leonid MAC used two aircraft carrying a variety of instruments to examine the particles from the comet Tempel -Tuttle as well as the impact of these on the upper atmosphere.

The Laser Interferometer Space Antenna (LISA) is a space-based observatory that will allow us to view the Universe in a new spectrum, that of gravitational radiation. This mission is part of the Physics of the Cosmos Program.

The Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array is a pathfinder mission that will open the high energy X-ray sky for sensitive study for the first time. This mission is part of SMD's Astrophysics Explorers program.

The Orbiting Astronomical Observatory (OAO) was a series of four satellites launched by NASA between 1966 and 1972.

ORFEUS-SPAS II mission conducted investigations of celestial sources in the far and extreme ultraviolet spectral range, and to increase understanding of the evolution of stars, the structure of galaxies, and the nature of the interstellar medium.

Planck is imaging minor variations relevant in the Cosmic Background Radiation over the whole sky, with unprecedented sensitivity and angular resolution. Planck is providing information relevant to several cosmological and astrophysical issues, such as testing theories of the early universe ...

The ROentgen SATellite, was an X-ray observatory developed through a cooperative program between the Germany, the United States, and the United Kingdom.

Rossi X-ray Timing Explorer studied variability over time in the emission of X-ray sources, with moderate spectral resolution. This time behavior is a source of important information about processes and structures in white-dwarf stars, X-ray binaries, neutron stars, pulsars and ...

Satelite de Aplicaciones Cientificas-B was designed to advance the study of solar physics and astrophysics through the examination of solar flares, gamma ray bursts, diffuse X-ray cosmic background, and energetic neutral atoms.

SIM/SIM-Lite was not recommended for development this decade by the Astro2010 Decadal Survey. As a consequence NASA sponsorship of the project was discontinued effective December 31, 2010.

SOFIA is the world's largest airborne observatory. It studies the universe over a wide range of the electromagnetic spectrum, from the optical to the far infrared.

Spitzer Space Telescope (formerly known as SIRTF) conducts infrared astronomy from space. From an unusual heliocentric orbit designed to keep its sensitive instruments away from Earth's radiated heat, Spitzer has detected several distant objects, including several supermassive black holes, that ...

Space Technology 7 project will flight test a Disturbance Reduction System (DRS) that will aid scientists in their quest to detect and measure gravitational waves in space.

Suzaku (formerly Astro-E2) provides powerful tools to use the Universe as a laboratory for unraveling complex, high-energy processes and the behavior of matter under extreme conditions. This mission is part of SMD's Astrophysics Explorers program. This mission was awarded via ...

The Submillimeter Wave Astronomy Satellite (SWAS) instrument was a submillimeter wave telescope that incorporated dual heterodyne radiometers and an acousto-optical spectrometer to investigate the composition of dense interstellar clouds.

Swift Gamma Ray Burst Explorer is a three-telescope space observatory for studying the position, brightness, and physical properties of gamma ray bursts. Although gamma ray bursts are the largest known explosions in the Universe, outshining the rest of the Universe ...

The Terrestrial Planet Finder was a mission concept previously under study by NASA. It was comprised of a Coronagraph and Interferometer that would study aspects of planets outside our solar system.

The Wide-field Infrared Explorer (WIRE) is a Small Explorer Mission designed to study the evolution of starburst galaxies and search for distant ultra-luminous galaxies.

WISE is a NASA-funded scientific research project that will provide a vast storehouse of knowledge about the solar system, the Milky Way, and the Universe. Among the objects WISE will study are asteroids, the coolest and dimmest stars, and the ...

Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe (WMAP) produced the earliest “baby picture” of the universe, showing the minute temperature variations within the microwave light produced when the Universe was about 400,000 years old. These data provided a wealth of information about the ...

XMM-Newton is an X-ray astrophysics observatory that enables astronomers to conduct sensitive X-ray spectroscopic observations of a wide variety of cosmic sources. This mission is part of SMD's Physics of the Cosmos program.