Delta II launches NASA space telescope

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CAPE CANAVERAL AIR FORCE STATION, Fla. (AFPN) --  NASA's Space Infrared Telescope Facility launched from here Aug. 25 at 1:35 a.m. EDT aboard a Delta II launch vehicle.

The new observatory entered an Earth-trailing orbit about 43 minutes after launch. About 64 minutes after take-off, the NASA Deep Space Network station in Canberra, Australia, received the first data from the facility, according to officials.

"All systems are operating smoothly, and we couldn't be more delighted," said David Gallagher, project manager for the mission at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif.

The facility will use infrared detectors to pierce the dusty darkness enshrouding many of the universe's objects, according to NASA officials. These include brown dwarfs, planet-forming debris discs around stars and distant galaxies billions of light years away. It is the last in NASA’s suite of “great observatories” which include the Hubble Space Telescope, Chandra X-ray Observatory and Compton Gamma Ray Observatory.

The two-and-one-half to five-year mission is a bridge to NASA's Origins Program, which seeks to answer the questions: "Where did we come from? Are we alone?" according to officials.

In-orbit checkout and calibration is scheduled to last 60 days, followed by a 30-day science-verification period, after which the observatory is expected to begin its regular science mission.