What is the SIRTF mission about?
SIRTF, the Space Infrared Telescope Facility, is the infrared component of NASA’s family of great space observatories. The first of these, the Hubble Space Telescope, was launched in 1990 and observes the universe primarily at optical wavelengths. This is the same kind of light that the human eye can see. The second member of this great observatory family, the Compton Gamma Ray Observatory, was launched in 1991. It studies the universe at very high wavelengths that are not visible — gamma rays. This observatory was brought down into the Pacific Ocean in a controlled crash because one of the gyroscopes failed and the mission had already exceeded its lifetime. The third member of the great observatory program is the Chandra X-ray observatory. This was launched from the Shuttle and is exploring the universe at x-ray wavelengths producing some spectacular results. The fourth and final component of the great observatory program is the Space Infrared Telescope Facility. It will observe the u
