Spitzer's Cryogenic Telescope Assembly

Diagram of the CTA

Spitzer's Cryogenic Telescope Assembly (CTA) consists of four main parts: a superfluid helium cryostat, a light-weight 85cm Ritchey-Chretien telescope, an Outer Shell Group, and a Multiple Instrument Chamber which houses the Science Instruments. Everything that is cold is part of the CTA. The CTA is mechanically mounted to, but thermally isolated from, the spacecraft by means of low conductivity struts and thermal radiation shields. The solar array and spacecraft shields block the CTA from the sun and spacecraft components at all times, helping to keep the CTA as cold as possible.

The Spitzer Space Telescope is a NASA mission managed by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory. This website is maintained by the Spitzer Science Center, located on the campus of the California Institute of Technology and part of NASA's Infrared Processing and Analysis Center.