Spitzer Space Telescope to Shutdown in 2020

The Spitzer Telescope of National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) will be switched off permanently on January 30, 2020. In its final leg of the operation, the Spitzer telescope is setting the stage for NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope, set to launch in 2021.

Spitzer Telescope was considered as a cousin of the Hubble Space Telescope. It was deployed to study the early universe in infrared light. Spitzer which was the first telescope to see light from a planet outside our solar system, Spitzer has also made important discoveries about comets, stars, exoplanets and distant galaxies.

Launched in 2003, the Spitzer Telescope had an expected lifespan of about 2.5 years. The mission has operated for more than 11 years beyond its prime mission.