NASA Looks Back Toward The Beginning

The launch of NASA's Space Infrared Telescope Facility aboard a Boeing Delta II Heavy expendable launch vehicle is scheduled for Saturday, Aug. 23, at the opening of an instantaneous launch window that occurs at 1:37:29 a.m. EDT.  Launch will occur from Pad 17-B on Cape Canaveral Air Force Station (FL).

The Space Infrared Telescope Facility marks the finale of NASA's Great Observatories Program, which includes the Hubble Space Telescope, the Chandra X-ray Observatory and the Compton Gamma Ray Observatory.  Its unprecedented infrared sensitivity will allow astronomers to study the most distant, coldest, and most dust-obscured objects and processes in the universe.

The observatory's amazing ability to sleuth around for low-temperature objects will also aid in the search for planetary systems in the making, some of which may breed Earth-like planets.  The mission is a cornerstone of NASA's Origins Program, which seeks to answer the questions, "Where did we come from?  Are we alone?"

FMI: www.nasa.gov