IRAS
IRAS beside some of its all-sky images
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| Mission type | Infrared space observatory | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Operator | |||||||||
| COSPAR ID | 1983-004A | ||||||||
| SATCAT № | 13777 | ||||||||
| Website | irsa |
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| Mission duration | Final: 9 months, 26 days | ||||||||
| Spacecraft properties | |||||||||
| Manufacturer | |||||||||
| Launch mass | 1,083 kg (2,388 lb) | ||||||||
| Dimensions | 3.60 × 3.24 × 2.05 m (11.8 × 10.6 × 6.7 ft) | ||||||||
| Start of mission | |||||||||
| Launch date | 25 January 1983, 21:17 UTC | ||||||||
| Rocket | Delta 3910 | ||||||||
| Launch site | Vandenberg SLC-2W | ||||||||
| Entered service | 9 February 1983 | ||||||||
| End of mission | |||||||||
| Disposal | Decommissioned | ||||||||
| Deactivated | 21 November 1983 | ||||||||
| Orbital parameters | |||||||||
| Reference system | Geocentric | ||||||||
| Regime | Sun-synchronous | ||||||||
| Semi-major axis | 7,270.69 km (4,517.80 mi) | ||||||||
| Eccentricity | 0.001857 | ||||||||
| Perigee | 879.05 km (546.22 mi) | ||||||||
| Apogee | 906.05 km (562.99 mi) | ||||||||
| Inclination | 98.95 deg | ||||||||
| Period | 102.8 min | ||||||||
| Mean motion | 14.00 rev/day | ||||||||
| Epoch | 19 November 2016, 04:15:30 UTC | ||||||||
| Main telescope | |||||||||
| Type | Ritchey–Chrétien | ||||||||
| Diameter | 57 cm (22 in) | ||||||||
| Focal length | 545 cm (215 in), f/9.56 | ||||||||
| Collecting area | 2,019 cm2 (312.9 sq in) | ||||||||
| Wavelengths | Long-wavelength to far-infrared | ||||||||
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| Instruments | |
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| SA | Survey Array |
| LRS | Low Resolution Spectrometer |
| CPC | Chopped Photometric Channel |
The Infrared Astronomical Satellite (IRAS) was the first-ever space telescope to perform a survey of the entire night sky at infrared wavelengths.
Launched on 25 January 1983, its mission lasted ten months. The telescope was a joint project of the United States (NASA), the Netherlands (NIVR), and the United Kingdom (SERC). Over 250,000 infrared sources were observed at 12, 25, 60, and 100 micrometer wavelengths.
Support for the processing and analysis of data from IRAS was contributed from the Infrared Processing and Analysis Center at the California Institute of Technology. Currently, the Infrared Science Archive at IPAC holds the IRAS archive.
The success of IRAS lead to interest in the 1985 Infrared Telescope (IRT) mission on the Space Shuttle, and the planned Shuttle Infrared Telescope Facility which eventually transformed into the Space Infrared Telescope Facility, SIRTF, which in turn was developed into the Spitzer Space Telescope, launched in 2003. The success of early infrared space astronomy led to further missions, such as the Infrared Space Observatory (1990s) and the Hubble Space Telescope's NICMOS instrument.
IRAS was the first observatory to perform an all-sky survey at infrared wavelengths. It mapped 96% of the sky four times, at 12, 25, 60 and 100 micrometers, with resolutions ranging from 30 arcseconds at 12 micrometers to 2 arcminutes at 100 micrometers. It discovered about 350,000 sources, many of which are still awaiting identification. About 75,000 of those are believed to be starburst galaxies, still enduring their star-formation stage. Many other sources are normal stars with disks of dust around them, possibly the early stage of planetary system formation. New discoveries included a dust disk around Vega and the first images of the Milky Way's core.
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Wikipedia