Infrared Space Observatory in the context of "Kourou"

Play Trivia Questions online!

 or

Skip to study material about Infrared Space Observatory in the context of "Kourou"
Ad spacer

⭐ Core Definition: Infrared Space Observatory

The Infrared Space Observatory (ISO) was a space telescope for infrared light designed and operated by the European Space Agency (ESA), in cooperation with ISAS (now part of JAXA) and NASA. The ISO was designed to study infrared light at wavelengths of 2.5 to 240 micrometres and operated from 1995 to 1998.

The €480.1-million satellite was launched on 17 November 1995 from the ELA-2 launch pad at the Guiana Space Centre near Kourou in French Guiana. The launch vehicle, an Ariane 44P rocket, placed ISO successfully into a highly elliptical geocentric orbit, completing one revolution around the Earth every 24 hours. The primary mirror of its Ritchey-Chrétien telescope measured 60 cm in diameter and was cooled to 1.7 kelvins by means of superfluid helium. The ISO satellite contained four instruments that allowed for imaging and photometry from 2.5 to 240 micrometres and spectroscopy from 2.5 to 196.8 micrometers.

↓ Menu

>>>PUT SHARE BUTTONS HERE<<<
In this Dossier

Infrared Space Observatory in the context of Spitzer Space Telescope

The Spitzer Space Telescope, formerly the Space Infrared Telescope Facility (SIRTF), was an infrared space telescope that was active between 2003 and 2020. Spitzer was the third space telescope dedicated to infrared astronomy, following IRAS (1983) and ISO (1995–1998). It was the first spacecraft to use an Earth-trailing orbit, later used by the Kepler planet-finder.

The planned 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. This occurred on 15 May 2009. Without liquid helium to cool the telescope to the very low temperatures needed to operate, most of the instruments were no longer usable. However, the two shortest-wavelength modules of the IRAC camera continued to operate with the same sensitivity as before the helium was exhausted, and continued to be used into early 2020 in the Spitzer Warm Mission.

↑ Return to Menu
LINKED FROM (PARENTS)
← Spitzer Space Telescope
LINKS TO (CHILDREN)
Space telescope → Infrared → European Space Agency → Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency → National Aeronautics and Space Administration → Wavelengths → Micrometres → Euro → Million → Centre Spatial Guyanais → Launch pad → Guiana Space Centre → Kourou → Launch vehicle → Ariane 4 → Elliptic orbit → Geocentric orbit → Earth (planet) → Primary mirror → Ritchey-Chrétien telescope → Kelvin → Superfluid → Helium → Photometry (astronomy) → Micrometre → Spectroscopy →