Aug. 25, 2003: The Spitzer Space Telescope launches

Today in the history of astronomy, an infrared view opens up the universe. | Published: August 25, 2026 A collection of 12 Spitzer images released for the observatory's 12th anniversary showcases the stunning stellar views it captured. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech NASA’s Great Observatories were intended to peer at the universe in different wavelengths: the Hubble Space Telescope in visible light, the Compton Gamma Ray in gamma rays, the Chandra X-ray Observatory in X-rays, and the Spitzer Space Telescope in infrared. The last of the four to be launched, Spitzer was carried into space on Aug. 25, 2003, and settled into its orbit by Sept. 3. Planned for a two-and-a-half-year mission, Spitzer returned data and images for 16 years to add to our understanding of exoplanets, the Hubble constant, black holes, and planet formation. A forerunner of the James Webb Space Telescope, Spitzer was decommissioned in 2020, but its data archive continues to supply new discoveries. Elisa Neckar is senior production editor of Astronomy magazine, and the editor of the Today in the History of Astronomy feature on Astronomy.com.