WISE Launch
Spacecraft: Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE)
Launch Vehicle: United Launch Alliance Delta II 7320
Launch Site: Vandenberg Air Force Base - SLC 2
Launch Date: Dec. 14, 2009 Launch Time: 6:09 a.m. PST (9:09 a.m. EST)
WISE Flies on its First Try
Image above: United Launch Alliance's Delta II rocket lifts off carrying NASA’s Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE) satellite toward space. Image credit: United Launch Alliance/Bill Hartenstein
› View larger image
NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer, or WISE, launched into Earth orbit at 6:09 a.m. PST (9:09 a.m. EST) Dec. 14, 2009, rocketing away from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California aboard a Delta II launch vehicle.
Once WISE was on its own in orbit, it sent a signal back to Earth through the Tracking and Data Relay Satellite System. With its cooling unit and solar arrays activated, the the 1,485-pound spacecraft was ready to begin its scientific mission.
WISE: Mapping the Infrared Sky
From a vantage point 500 km above Earth's surface, WISE will survey the entire sky at infrared wavelengths, creating a cosmic clearinghouse of hundreds of millions of objects that will be catalogued and provide a vast storehouse of knowledge about the solar system, the Milky Way, and the universe. By the end of its six-month mission, WISE will have taken nearly 1,500,000 pictures covering the entire sky.
› In Search of Dark Asteroids (and Other Sneaky Things)
› Watch a Launch
› Launch Locations
Launch Vehicle: United Launch Alliance Delta II 7320
Launch Site: Vandenberg Air Force Base - SLC 2
Launch Date: Dec. 14, 2009 Launch Time: 6:09 a.m. PST (9:09 a.m. EST)
WISE Flies on its First Try
Image above: United Launch Alliance's Delta II rocket lifts off carrying NASA’s Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE) satellite toward space. Image credit: United Launch Alliance/Bill Hartenstein› View larger image
NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer, or WISE, launched into Earth orbit at 6:09 a.m. PST (9:09 a.m. EST) Dec. 14, 2009, rocketing away from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California aboard a Delta II launch vehicle.
Once WISE was on its own in orbit, it sent a signal back to Earth through the Tracking and Data Relay Satellite System. With its cooling unit and solar arrays activated, the the 1,485-pound spacecraft was ready to begin its scientific mission.
WISE: Mapping the Infrared Sky
From a vantage point 500 km above Earth's surface, WISE will survey the entire sky at infrared wavelengths, creating a cosmic clearinghouse of hundreds of millions of objects that will be catalogued and provide a vast storehouse of knowledge about the solar system, the Milky Way, and the universe. By the end of its six-month mission, WISE will have taken nearly 1,500,000 pictures covering the entire sky.
› In Search of Dark Asteroids (and Other Sneaky Things)
› Watch a Launch
› Launch Locations
Launch Control Center
Multimedia
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WISE Prepped for Space
Technicians and scientists worked carefully to get the WISE spacecraft ready for launch.
› View This Video -
WISE Spacecraft Separation
With spacecraft separtion confirmed NASA's WISE space telescope beings its mission to to map the entire sky in infrared light.
› View This Video -
Launch Manager Interview
NASA Commentator Tracy Young caps the WISE launch coverage with an interview with Chuck Dovale.
› View This Video
 "The WISE spacecraft in clean room.")
 "WISE Mission Control")
 "NASA Commentator Tracy Young and WISE Launch Manager Chuck Dovale")
Mission Extras
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WISE - Your Guide to the Infrared Sky
Learn about NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer and all the goodies it is expected to uncover in this new, interactive feature.
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WISE Webcast
Go behind the scenes to see how the Delta II rocket and the WISE space telescope are prepared for launch on this exciting mission to view space through infrared eyes.
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WISE Image Gallery
Spacecraft and rocket come together for launch.
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Rocket Science 101
Assemble a Delta II or Atlas V rocket from main engine to payload fairing!
› Build a Rocket