Great Observatories program
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NASA's series of Great Observatories satellites. Each of the Great Observatories has/had a similar size and cost, and each has made a substantial contribution to astronomy. The Hubble Space Telescope has also become very popular with the media (partly because of its early failures, ironically), and it is now probably the most famous astronomical telescope.
- Hubble Space Telescope (HST) was called the Space Telescope (ST) before being named.
- Compton Gamma Ray Observatory (CGRO) was called the Gamma Ray Observatory (GRO), before being named.
- Chandra X-ray Observatory (CXO) was called the Advanced X-ray Astronomical Facility (AXAF), before being named.
- Spitzer Space Telescope (SST) was called the Space Infra-red Telescope Facility (SIRTF), before being named.
NASA's follow-up Great Observatories program.
- James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) was called the Next Generation Space Telescope (NGST) before being named, and is the replacement for HST.
- Space Interferometry Mission (SIM)
- Terrestrial Planet Finder (TPF)
See also: Space observatory