The Wide-field Infrared Explorer. or WIRE. was a small satellite carrying a
cryogenically cooled infrared telescope designed to study starburst galaxies
vast clouds of molecular gas cradling the sites of newborn stars.
WIRE was launched on a three-stage Pegasus XL vehicle released from an L-1011
aircraft over the Pacific Ocean after takeoff from California's Vandenberg
Air Force Base on March 4. 1999.
Developed under NASA's Small Explorer Program. WIRE was intended to have a
four-month primary mission. However. an equipment malfunction caused a rapid
depletion of the telescope's coolant shortly after launch. leaving it unusable for its
original science objective.
Since then. WIRE's onboard star tracker has been used for two entirely different
purposes: astroseismology and planet-finding. WIRE re-entered the atmosphere on
May 10. 2011. The original science goals of WIRE are now being pursued by the
Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer. or WISE. mission which successfully
launched into orbit on December 14. 2009.