TMinusZero
Loading
Preparing the latest launch data.
TMinusZero
Loading
Preparing the latest launch data.
Launch Detail
Loading launch detail
Pulling launch timing, vehicle context, weather signals, and mission evidence.
Launch detail
United States Air Force • Delta II 7920H • Space Launch Complex 17B (FL)

Top answer
The Spitzer Space Telescope was an infared space telescope with a planned mission period of 2.5 years - which actually stayed fully operational until 2009.
Last refreshed: Jun 14, 2023, 1:42 PM EDT. T-Minus Zero keeps this as the canonical launch record and reconciles schedule, mission, payload, media, and provider signals when those records are available.
Alternate mission URLs consolidate to this canonical launch record so exact mission timing, status, media, and source context stay on one page.
Premium keeps the launch-by-launch change log visible so you can review slips, window edits, and status changes without waiting for an error-driven upgrade prompt.
Free-to-share photography matched to this launch. Tap a photo to view it at full resolution.
Linked via Spaceflight News API (SNAPI).
What happens when a star dies? In 2019, Betelgeuse dimmed in brightness, sparking speculation that it may soon explode as a supernova. While it likely won’t...
ArticleUsing data collected by NASA’s retired Spitzer Space Telescope and NASA’s Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS), a team of scientists has discovered a...
Article"I think it would be pretty ambitious... but really great if we could pull it off."
ArticleUsing data from NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope and retired Spitzer Space Telescope, a group of researchers has discovered two exoplanets that may be largely c...
Enhanced forecast insights (select launches).
Premium adds the higher-signal weather shell for select Eastern Range launches, including the extra launch criteria and fast-read risk rows.
The Spitzer Space Telescope was an infared space telescope with a planned mission period of 2.5 years - which actually stayed fully operational until 2009.
Use these internal paths to move from this exact launch record into the provider, vehicle, launch-site, schedule, and mission-family pages that own broader context.
This launch currently has no dedicated mission-family hub, so provider, vehicle, site, and canonical record links are the primary internal paths.
Key structured fields for this launch record are grouped here so the page answers mission, payload, orbit, provider, source, and timing questions before the deeper tracking and media sections.
This record is preserved as historical launch context. The page emphasizes what was launched, the vehicle and pad involved, published outcome/status fields, linked programs, and source records instead of treating the mission like an upcoming countdown.
Open the launch pad in Google Maps satellite mode using the pad coordinates.
The Spitzer Space Telescope was an infared space telescope with a planned mission period of 2.5 years - which actually stayed fully operational until 2009.
Delta II is an American space launch system developed by McDonnell Douglas, now part of the Delta rocket family operated by United Launch Alliance. With more than 150 missions and a nearly perfect track record, Delta II has established itself as one of the most successful orbital launch systems.
The United States Air Force (USAF) is the air service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part of the United States Army Signal Corps, the USAF was established as a separate branch of the United States Armed Forces in 1947 with the enactment of the National Security Act of 1947.
69bdb386383dffc5fa60c24417b25adae61adcf6987d48b758e3f156b1acf58dProvider, rocket, pad, and booster history tied to this launch.