Fri, Dec 19, 2003
Spitzer IR Telescope "Open For Business"
NASA has renamed the Space Infrared
Telescope Facility, its newest space observatory, for the late
astronomer Dr. Lyman Spitzer, Jr. The official name is now the
Spitzer Space Telescope. The Spitzer Space Telescope program is
managed by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) for NASA's Office of
Space Science in Washington D.C. Science operations are conducted
at the Spitzer Science Center at the California Institute of
Technology in Pasadena. In concert with the renaming, NASA also
released the first scientific images from the Spitzer
telescope.
The telescope is now online and has already sent back incredible
pictures of the great beyond.
The Spitzer telescope was built, integrated and tested at
Lockheed Martin Space Systems Company facilities in Sunnyvale,
California, and was launched on Aug. 25, 2003 from the NASA Kennedy
Space Center in Florida. Space Systems is also providing mission
support for Spitzer spaceflight operations in conjunction with the
Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) and the California Institute of
Technology.
Lyman Spitzer, Jr. (1914-1997) was one of the twentieth
century's most renowned scientists, and the first to advance the
idea of placing a large telescope in space. After pointing out, in
1946, that a space-based telescope would avoid the blurring effects
of Earth's atmosphere, Spitzer devoted the next 50 years of his
career to making this vision a reality. His determined efforts led
to two successful NASA space telescopes: the Copernicus satellite
and the Hubble Space Telescope. He also made significant
contributions to the fields of stellar dynamics, the interstellar
medium and plasma physics.
"Lyman Spitzer was a personal friend and a great inspiration to
me. We congratulate Dr. Spitzer's family on this distinct honor,
and applaud NASA on the perfect choice in naming its fourth Great
Observatory," said Jim Crocker, vice president, Civil Space at
Lockheed Martin Space Systems. "In addition, the images released
today from the Spitzer Space Telescope are breathtaking, and we
look forward to the many important discoveries to come from this
new window on the universe."
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