California Institute of Technology Jet Propulsion Laboratory

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Note To Editors

Press Release

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Fact Sheet

Spitzer Space Telescope

On August 25, 2003, the long-awaited Space Infrared Telescope Facility -- later renamed Spitzer Space Telescope -- soared into space aboard a Delta II rocket from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida. The occasion marked 30 years since the observatory's inception, and heralded the beginning of a new phase in space exploration.

Only one year later, Spitzer is uncovering some of the coldest, dustiest and most distant secrets in the universe. Its exquisite infrared eyes have spied a dusty disc that may harbor the youngest planet ever detected; hundreds of dust-enshrouded stars; and one of the farthest known galaxies, among other space objects.

Spitzer is the fourth of NASA's Great Observatories, a program designed to paint a more complete picture of the cosmos using different portions of the electromagnetic spectrum. Spitzer sees in the infrared; the Hubble Space Telescope observes visible light; the Chandra X-Ray Observatory detects X-rays; and the Compton Gamma-Ray Observatory measured gamma rays. Spitzer is also part of NASA's Origins program, which seeks to answer the questions: Where did we come from? Are we alone?