List of space telescopes
This list of space telescopes is grouped by major frequency ranges: gamma ray, x-ray, ultraviolet, visible, infrared, microwave and radio. Telescopes that work in multiple frequency bands are included in all of the appropriate sections. Space telescopes that collect particles, such as cosmic ray nuclei and/or electrons, as well as instruments that aim to detect gravitational waves, are also listed. Missions with specific targets within the Solar System, are excluded; see List of Solar System probes for these, and List of Earth observation satellites for missions targeting our planet.
Two values are provided for the dimensions of the initial orbit. For telescopes in Earth orbit, the min and max altitude are given in kilometers. For telescopes in solar orbit, the minimum distance and the maximum distance between the telescope and the center of mass of the sun are given in astronomical units.
| Legend |
Gamma ray
Gamma ray telescopes collect and measure individual, high energy gamma rays from astrophysical sources. These are absorbed by the atmosphere, requiring that observations are done by high-altitude balloons or space missions. Gamma rays can be generated by supernovae, neutron stars, pulsars and black holes. Gamma ray bursts, with extremely high energies, have also been detected but have yet to be identified.| Photo | Name | Space Agency | Launch Date | Terminated | Location | Ref |
| Proton-1 | USSR | Earth orbit | ||||
| Proton-2 | USSR | Earth orbit | ||||
| Proton-4 | USSR | Earth orbit | ||||
| Second Small Astronomy Satellite | NASA | Earth orbit | ||||
| Cos-B | ESA | Earth orbit | ||||
| 3rd High Energy Astronomy Observatory | NASA | Earth orbit | ||||
| Granat | CNRS & IKI | Earth orbit | ||||
| Gamma | USSR, CNES, RSA | Earth orbit | ||||
| Compton Gamma Ray Observatory | NASA | Earth orbit | ||||
| Low Energy Gamma Ray Imager | INTA | Earth orbit | ||||
| High Energy Transient Explorer 2 | NASA | Earth orbit | ||||
| International Gamma Ray Astrophysics Laboratory | ESA | — | Earth orbit | |||
| Swift Gamma Ray Burst Explorer | NASA | — | Earth orbit | |||
| Astrorivelatore Gamma ad Immagini LEggero | ISA | — | Earth orbit | |||
| Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope | NASA | — | Earth orbit | |||
| Gamma-Ray Burst Polarimeter | JAXA | — | Heliocentric orbit |
X-ray
X-ray telescopes measure high-energy photons called X-rays. These can not travel a long distance through the atmosphere, meaning that they can only be observed high in the atmosphere or in space. Several types of astrophysical objects emit X-rays, from galaxy clusters, through black holes in active galactic nuclei to galactic objects such as supernova remnants, stars, and binary stars containing a white dwarf, neutron star or black hole. Some Solar System bodies emit X-rays, the most notable being the Moon, although most of the X-ray brightness of the Moon arises from reflected solar X-rays. A combination of many unresolved X-ray sources is thought to produce the observed X-ray background.| Photo | Name | Space Agency | Launch Date | Terminated | Location | Ref |
| Uhuru | NASA | Earth orbit | ||||
| Astronomical Netherlands Satellite | SRON | Earth orbit | ||||
| Ariel V | SRC & NASA | Earth orbit | ||||
| Aryabhata | ISRO | Earth orbit | ||||
| Third Small Astronomy Satellite | NASA | Earth orbit | ||||
| Cos-B | ESA | Earth orbit | ||||
| Cosmic Radiation Satellite | ISAS | Failed launch | ||||
| 1st High Energy Astronomy Observatory | NASA | Earth orbit | ||||
| Einstein Observatory | NASA | Earth orbit | ||||
| Hakucho | ISAS | Earth orbit | ||||
| 3rd High Energy Astronomy Observatory | NASA | Earth orbit | ||||
| Tenma | ISAS | Earth orbit | ||||
| Astron | IKI | Earth orbit | ||||
| EXOSAT | ESA | Earth orbit | ||||
| Ginga | ISAS | Earth orbit | ||||
| Granat | CNRS & IKI | Earth orbit | ||||
| ROSAT | NASA & DLR | Re-entry 23 October 2011. Formerly Earth orbit | ||||
| Broad Band X-ray Telescope / Astro 1 | NASA | Earth orbit | ||||
| Advanced Satellite for Cosmology and Astrophysics | ISAS & NASA | Earth orbit | ||||
| Array of Low Energy X-ray Imaging Sensors | LANL | Earth orbit | ||||
| Rossi X-ray Timing Explorer | NASA | Earth orbit | ||||
| BeppoSAX | ASI | Earth orbit | ||||
| A Broadband Imaging X-ray All-sky Survey | DLR | Earth orbit | ||||
| Chandra X-ray Observatory | NASA | — | Earth orbit | |||
| XMM-Newton | ESA | — | Earth orbit | |||
| High Energy Transient Explorer 2 | NASA | Earth orbit | ||||
| International Gamma Ray Astrophysics Laboratory | ESA | — | Earth orbit | |||
| Swift Gamma Ray Burst Explorer | NASA | — | Earth orbit | |||
| Suzaku | JAXA & NASA | Earth orbit | ||||
| AGILE | ISA | — | Earth orbit | |||
| Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array | NASA | — | Earth orbit | |||
| Astrosat | ISRO | — | Earth orbit | |||
| Hitomi | JAXA | Earth orbit | ||||
| Mikhailo Lomonosov | Moscow State University | Earth orbit | ||||
| Hard X-ray Modulation Telescope | CNSA & CAS | — | Low Earth orbit | |||
| Spektr-RG | RSRI & MPE | — | Sun-Earth L2 |
Ultraviolet
Ultraviolet telescopes make observations at ultraviolet wavelengths, i.e. between approximately 10 and 320 nm. Light at these wavelengths is absorbed by the Earth's atmosphere, so observations at these wavelengths must be performed from the upper atmosphere or from space. Objects emitting ultraviolet radiation include the Sun, other stars and galaxies.| Photo | Name | Space Agency | Launch Date | Terminated | Observing Location | Ref |
| OAO-2 | NASA | Earth orbit | ||||
| Orion 1 and Orion 2 Space Observatories | USSR | ; | ; 1973 | Earth orbit | ||
| Far Ultraviolet Camera/Spectrograph | NASA | Descartes Highlands on lunar surface | ||||
| OAO-3 Copernicus | NASA | Earth orbit | ||||
| Astronomical Netherlands Satellite | SRON | Earth orbit | ||||
| International Ultraviolet Explorer | ESA & NASA & SERC | Earth orbit | ||||
| Astron | IKI | Earth orbit | ||||
| Hubble Space Telescope | NASA & ESA | — | Earth orbit | |||
| Broad Band X-ray Telescope / Astro 1 | NASA | Earth orbit | ||||
| Extreme Ultraviolet Explorer | NASA | Earth orbit | ||||
| Astro 2 | NASA | Earth orbit | ||||
| Far Ultraviolet Spectroscopic Explorer | NASA & CNES & CSA | Earth orbit | ||||
| Cosmic Hot Interstellar Spectrometer | NASA | Earth orbit | ||||
| Galaxy Evolution Explorer | NASA | Earth orbit | . | |||
| Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology Satellite 4 | KARI | ? | Earth orbit | |||
| Swift Gamma Ray Burst Explorer | NASA | — | Earth orbit | |||
| Interface Region Imaging Spectrograph | NASA | — | Earth orbit | |||
| Hisaki | JAXA | — | — | |||
| Venus Spectral Rocket Experiment | NASA | reusable | suborbital to 300 km | |||
| Lunar-based ultraviolet telescope | CNSA | — | Lunar surface | |||
| Astrosat | ISRO | — | Earth orbit |
UV ranges listed at Ultraviolet astronomy#Ultraviolet space telescopes.
Visible light
The oldest form of astronomy, optical or visible-light astronomy, observes wavelengths of light from approximately 400 to 700 nm. Positioning an optical telescope in space eliminates the distortions and limitations that hamper that ground-based optical telescopes, providing higher resolution images. Optical telescopes are used to look at planets, stars, galaxies, planetary nebulae and protoplanetary disks, amongst many other things.| Photo | Name | Space Agency | Launch Date | Terminated | Location | Ref |
| Hipparcos | ESA | Earth orbit | ||||
| Hubble Space Telescope | NASA&ESA | — | Earth orbit | |||
| MOST | CSA | Earth orbit | ||||
| Swift Gamma Ray Burst Explorer | NASA | — | Earth orbit | |||
| COROT | CNES & ESA | Earth orbit | ||||
| Kepler | NASA | Earth-trailing heliocentric orbit | ||||
| BRITE constellation | Austria, Canada, Poland | - | — | Earth orbit | ||
| Near Earth Object Surveillance Satellite | CSA, DRDC | — | Sun-synchronous Earth orbit | |||
| Gaia | ESA | — | Sun-Earth L2 Lagrange point | |||
| Astrosat | ISRO | — | Earth orbit | |||
| Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite | NASA | — | High Earth Orbit | |||
| CHEOPS | ESA | — | Sun-synchronous orbit |
Infrared and submillimetre
Infrared light is of lower energy than visible light, hence is emitted by sources that are either cooler, or moving away from the observer at high speed. As such, the following can be viewed in the infrared: cool stars, nebulae, and redshifted galaxies.| Photo | Name | Space Agency | Launch Date | Terminated | Location | Ref |
| IRAS | NASA | Earth orbit | ||||
| Infrared Telescope in Space | ISAS & NASDA | Earth orbit | ||||
| Infrared Space Observatory | ESA | Earth orbit | ||||
| Midcourse Space Experiment | USN | Earth orbit | ||||
| Submillimeter Wave Astronomy Satellite | NASA | Earth orbit | ||||
| Wide Field Infrared Explorer | NASA | no observations | Re-entered May 10, 2011 | |||
| Spitzer Space Telescope | NASA | Solar orbit | ||||
| Akari | JAXA | Earth orbit | ||||
| Herschel Space Observatory | ESA & NASA | Sun-Earth L2 Lagrange point | ||||
| Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer | NASA | Earth orbit | ||||
| CHEOPS | ESA | — | Sun-synchronous orbit |
Microwave
Microwave space telescopes have primarily been used to measure cosmological parameters from the Cosmic Microwave Background. They also measure synchrotron radiation, free-free emission and spinning dust from our Galaxy, as well as extragalactic compact sources and galaxy clusters through the Sunyaev-Zel'dovich effect.| Photo | Name | Space Agency | Launch Date | Terminated | Location | Ref |
| Cosmic Background Explorer | NASA | Earth orbit | ||||
| Odin | Swedish Space Corporation | — | Earth orbit | |||
| WMAP | NASA | Sun-Earth L2 Lagrange point | ||||
| Planck | ESA | Sun-Earth L2 Lagrange point Heliocentric |
Radio
As the atmosphere is transparent for radio waves, radio telescopes in space are of most use for Very Long Baseline Interferometry; doing simultaneous observations of a source with both a satellite and a ground-based telescope and by correlating their signals to simulate a radio telescope the size of the separation between the two telescopes. Observations can be of supernova remnants, masers, gravitational lenses, starburst galaxies, and many other things.| Photo | Name | Space Agency | Launch Date | Terminated | Location | Ref |
| Highly Advanced Laboratory for Communications and Astronomy | ISAS | Earth orbit | ||||
| Spektr-R | ASC LPI | Earth orbit |
Particle detection
Spacecraft and space-based modules that do particle detection, looking for cosmic rays and electrons. These can be emitted by the sun, our galaxy and extragalactic sources. There are also Ultra-high-energy cosmic rays from active galactic nuclei, those can be detected by ground-based detectors via their particle showers.| Photo | Name | Space Agency | Launch Date | Terminated | Location | Ref |
| Proton-1 | USSR | Earth orbit | ||||
| Proton-2 | USSR | Earth orbit | ||||
| 3rd High Energy Astrophysics Observatory | NASA | Earth orbit | ||||
| SAMPEX | NASA / DE | Earth orbit | ||||
| Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer 01 | NASA | Earth orbit | ||||
| Payload for Antimatter Matter Exploration and Light-nuclei Astrophysics | ISA, INFN, RSA, DLR & SNSB | Earth orbit | ||||
| IBEX | NASA | — | Earth orbit | |||
| Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer 02 | NASA | — | Earth orbit on ISS | |||
| Dark Matter Particle Explorer | CNSA & CAS | — | Earth orbit |
Gravitational waves
A type of telescope that detects gravitational waves; ripples in space-time generated by colliding neutron stars or black holes.| Photo | Name | Space Agency | Launch Date | Terminated | Location | Ref |
| LISA Pathfinder | ESA | Heliocentric orbit |