Compare Space Telescopes

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Space telescope data has underpinned 1.5 million+ scientific papers since 1990.

Attribute	Chandra X-ray Observatory (CXO) NASA · 🇺🇸 Active · Last updated 2026-06-01 Trust: Agency-primaryⓘ Last verified 2026-06-01Remove ×	Spitzer Space Telescope NASA · 🇺🇸 Trust: Agency-primaryⓘ Last verified 2026-06-01Remove ×	Hubble Space Telescope (HST) NASA/ESA · 🇺🇸 Active · Last updated 2026-06-01 Trust: Agency-primaryⓘ Last verified 2026-06-01Remove ×
Agency	NASA	NASA	NASA/ESA
Status	Active	Retired	Active
Wavelength band	x-ray	infrared	multi
Launch year	1999	2003 – 2020	1990
Orbit	Highly elliptical (perigee 10,000 km / apogee 140,000 km)	Earth-trailing heliocentric orbit	Low Earth Orbit (LEO) ~547 km
Mirror / aperture	1.2 mas of 1999-07-23^[1]Four pairs of nested grazing-incidence mirrors; effective aperture 0.04 m²	0.85 mas of 2003-08-25^[1]	2.4 mas of 1990-04-24^[1] ↑ Largest
Mass	4,800 kgas of 1999-07-23^[1]Including HRMA mirror assembly	950 kgas of 2003-08-25^[1]	11,110 kgas of 1990-04-24^[1] ↑ Heaviest
Wavelength range	0.1–10 keV (soft to medium X-ray)	3.6–160 μm (mid-to-far infrared)	0.115–2.5 μm (UV, optical, near-IR)
Key missions	• First X-ray image of Sgr A* (Milky Way black hole) • Bullet Cluster (direct dark matter evidence) • Cas A supernova remnant detailed imaging • Over 25 years operational lifetime	• Detection of 7 TRAPPIST-1 exoplanets (2016–2017) • Dusty disk mapping around stars • Star-forming region imaging (Cygnus X) • Cosmic evolution DEEP Survey (GOODS)	• Hubble Deep Field (1995) • Hubble Ultra Deep Field (2004) • Dark energy discovery with Type Ia SNe (1998) • Exoplanet atmosphere characterization • Over 1.6 million observations
Summary	NASA's flagship X-ray telescope and one of the Great Observatories. Chandra's angular resolution is 100× better than previous X-ray telescopes, enabling detailed imaging of supernovae remnants, galaxy clusters, and the region around supermassive black holes. Still operating after 25+ years despite being designed for a 5-year mission.	NASA's infrared Great Observatory, operating 2003–2020. Best known for discovering the TRAPPIST-1 system of 7 Earth-sized planets, including 3 in the habitable zone (with ground telescopes). Ran out of cryogen in 2009 but continued 'warm mission' until retirement in January 2020.	The most scientifically productive telescope ever built. Launched in 1990 and serviced five times by Space Shuttle crews, Hubble has logged over 1.6 million observations and contributed to more than 21,000 peer-reviewed publications. Its image of the Hubble Deep Field fundamentally changed our understanding of galaxy formation.

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Clear comparison

Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope+

NASA/DOE/international

Active

TESS (Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite)+

NASA

Active

James Webb Space Telescope (JWST)+

Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope (Roman)+

About this tool

All 9 major space telescopes with primary-source citations from NASA, ESA, STScI, and JPL. Pure URL state — bookmark or share the link and the comparison reproduces exactly.

📋 What changed recently

Jun 2026Updated Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope launch estimate to Q2 2027 after schedule review.
Jun 2026Added Euclid DR2 data release reference and updated key discoveries entry.
May 2026Clarified Chandra cooling system status; updated TESS extended mission status to ongoing.

Attribute

Chandra X-ray Observatory (CXO)

NASA · 🇺🇸

Active · Last updated 2026-06-01

Trust: Agency-primaryⓘ

Last verified 2026-06-01Remove ×

Spitzer Space Telescope

NASA · 🇺🇸

Trust: Agency-primaryⓘ

Last verified 2026-06-01Remove ×

Hubble Space Telescope (HST)

NASA/ESA · 🇺🇸

Active · Last updated 2026-06-01

Trust: Agency-primaryⓘ

Last verified 2026-06-01Remove ×

Agency

NASA

NASA/ESA

Status

Active

Retired

Active

Wavelength band

x-ray

infrared

multi

Launch year

1999

2003 – 2020

1990

Orbit

Highly elliptical (perigee 10,000 km / apogee 140,000 km)

Earth-trailing heliocentric orbit

Low Earth Orbit (LEO) ~547 km

Mirror / aperture

1.2 mas of 1999-07-23^[1]Four pairs of nested grazing-incidence mirrors; effective aperture 0.04 m²

0.85 mas of 2003-08-25^[1]

2.4 mas of 1990-04-24^[1]

↑ Largest

Mass

4,800 kgas of 1999-07-23^[1]Including HRMA mirror assembly

950 kgas of 2003-08-25^[1]

11,110 kgas of 1990-04-24^[1]

↑ Heaviest

Wavelength range

0.1–10 keV (soft to medium X-ray)

3.6–160 μm (mid-to-far infrared)

0.115–2.5 μm (UV, optical, near-IR)

Key missions

• First X-ray image of Sgr A* (Milky Way black hole)
• Bullet Cluster (direct dark matter evidence)
• Cas A supernova remnant detailed imaging
• Over 25 years operational lifetime

• Detection of 7 TRAPPIST-1 exoplanets (2016–2017)
• Dusty disk mapping around stars
• Star-forming region imaging (Cygnus X)
• Cosmic evolution DEEP Survey (GOODS)

• Hubble Deep Field (1995)
• Hubble Ultra Deep Field (2004)
• Dark energy discovery with Type Ia SNe (1998)
• Exoplanet atmosphere characterization
• Over 1.6 million observations

Summary

NASA's flagship X-ray telescope and one of the Great Observatories. Chandra's angular resolution is 100× better than previous X-ray telescopes, enabling detailed imaging of supernovae remnants, galaxy clusters, and the region around supermassive black holes. Still operating after 25+ years despite being designed for a 5-year mission.

NASA's infrared Great Observatory, operating 2003–2020. Best known for discovering the TRAPPIST-1 system of 7 Earth-sized planets, including 3 in the habitable zone (with ground telescopes). Ran out of cryogen in 2009 but continued 'warm mission' until retirement in January 2020.

The most scientifically productive telescope ever built. Launched in 1990 and serviced five times by Space Shuttle crews, Hubble has logged over 1.6 million observations and contributed to more than 21,000 peer-reviewed publications. Its image of the Hubble Deep Field fundamentally changed our understanding of galaxy formation.