NASA Launch Commentator: "3.2.1 engine start. ignition and liftoff of a Delta II
rocket with the FUSE spacecraft to explore the origins of the universe."
NASA's Far Ultraviolet Spectroscopic Explorer. or FUSE. satellite was launched
into orbit aboard a Delta II rocket on June 24. 1999
from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. Funded by NASA as part of its
Origins program. FUSE looks at light in the far ultraviolet portion of the
electromagnetic spectrum.
After its three-year primary mission. NASA extended FUSE operations several
times to allow continued access by the astronomical community.
Over eight years of operations. FUSE acquired more than 6.000 observations of
nearly 3.000 separate astronomical targets. and gave astronomers a completely new
perspective on the universe.
FUSE helped scientists answer several important questions.
including how chemicals disperse throughout galaxies. the conditions in the
universe immediately following the Big Bang. and the composition of interstellar
gas clouds that form stars and solar systems.
NASA concluded the FUSE mission on October 18. 2007. after pointing system on
the satellite failed.