List of space telescopes
Name Space Agency Launch Date Terminated Location
Proton-1 USSR 16 Jul 1965 11 Oct 1965 Earth orbit ( 183-589 km )
Proton-2 USSR 2 Nov 1965 6 Feb 1966 Earth orbit ( 191-637 km )
Proton-4 USSR 16 Nov 1968 24 Jul 1969 Earth orbit ( 248-477 km )
Second Small Astronomy Satellite ( SAS 2 ) NASA 15 Nov 1972 8 Jun 1973 Earth orbit ( 443-632 km )
Cos-B ESA 9 Aug 1975 25 Apr 1982 Earth orbit ( 339.6-99,876 km )
3rd High Energy Astronomy Observatory ( HEAO 3 ) NASA 20 Sep 1979 29 May 1981 Earth orbit ( 486.4-504.9 km )
Granat CNRS & IKI 1 Dec 1989 25 May 1999 Earth orbit ( 2,000-200,000 km )
Gamma USSR , CNES , RSA 1 Jul 1990 1992 Earth orbit ( 375 km )
Compton Gamma Ray Observatory ( CGRO ) NASA 5 Apr 1991 4 Jun 2000 Earth orbit ( 362-457 km )
Low Energy Gamma Ray Imager ( LEGRI ) INTA 19 May 1997 Feb 2002 Earth orbit ( 600 km )
High Energy Transient Explorer 2 ( HETE 2 ) NASA 9 Oct 2000 Mar 2008 Earth orbit ( 590-650 km )
International Gamma Ray Astrophysics Laboratory ( INTEGRAL ) ESA 17 Oct 2002 - Earth orbit ( 639-153,000 km )
Swift Gamma Ray Burst Explorer NASA 20 Nov 2004 - Earth orbit ( 585-604 km )
Astrorivelatore Gamma ad Immagini LEggero ( AGILE ) ISA 23 Apr 2007 - Earth orbit ( 524-553 km )
Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope NASA 11 Jun 2008 - Earth orbit ( 555 km )
Gamma-Ray Burst Polarimeter ( GAP ) JAXA 21 May 2010 - Heliocentric orbit
Gamma ray
Further information : Gamma ray astronomy
This list of space telescopes (astronomical space observatories) 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 (e.g. our Sun and its planets), 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 (periapsis) and the maximum distance (apoapsis) between the telescope and the center of mass of the sun are given in astronomical units (AU).