Aug 25 2003
From The Space Library
NASA successfully launched its Space Infrared Telescope Facility (SIRTF) aboard a Delta 2 rocket from Cape Canaveral, Florida. The Lockheed Martin-built SIRTF was the fourth and final of NASA's Great Observatories, following the HST, the Compton Gamma Ray Observatory, and the Chandra X-ray Observatory. NASA had designed the 110-pound (50-kilogram), 33.5-inch (85-centimeter) telescope to measure heat from celestial objects. SIRTF would study some of the same deep space objects as the other Great Observatories, as well as studying other parts of the cosmos. Michael Jura, SIRTF interdisciplinary scientist for planetary science at the University of California at Los Angeles, remarked that one of SIRTF's main scientific goals was to develop a better understanding of star and planet formation. The project, originally proposed in the mid-1970s, had faced repeated budgetary cutbacks and delays. NASA planned for SIRTF's mission to last a minimum of 30 months, at an anticipated cost of US$1.19 billion. (Spacewarn Bulletin, no. 598; Associated Press, “NASA Launches Rocket with Infrared Scope,” 25 August 2003.
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