In this recent live session, we talked about space telescopes. With a critical lens firmly rooted in the colonial cosmology critique, we explored the narratives underpinning these alleged celestial observation tools. We explored the concept of “filling in,” where our imagination plays a profound role in shaping our understanding of the universe.
Upcoming essays will delve even deeper, peeling back the layers of these space telescope missions and shed light on how space exploration narratives perpetuate certain power dynamics and ways of thinking, leading to cosmological homogeneity and an ethnocentric and mistaken picture of the cosmos.
- Hubble Space Telescope (HST)
- Launched on April 24, 1990.
- SOHO (Solar and Heliospheric Observatory)
- Launched on December 2, 1995.
- TRACE (Transition Region and Coronal Explorer)
- Launched on April 2, 1998.
- Chandra X-ray Observatory
- Launched on July 23, 1999.
- XMM-Newton
- Launched on December 10, 1999.
- INTEGRAL
- Launched on October 17, 2002.
- Swift Gamma-Ray Burst Mission
- Launched on November 20, 2004.
- Hinode (Solar-B)
- Launched on September 23, 2006.
- COROT
- Launched on December 27, 2006.
- Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope
- Launched on June 11, 2008.
- Kepler Space Telescope
- Launched on March 7, 2009.
- Planck
- Launched on May 14, 2009.
- WISE (Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer)
- Launched on December 14, 2009.
- NuSTAR (Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array)
- Launched on June 13, 2012.
- Gaia
- Launched on December 19, 2013.
- ASTROSAT
- Launched on September 28, 2015.
- UVIT (Ultra-Violet Imaging Telescope)
- Launched on September 28, 2015 (part of ASTROSAT).
- NICER (Neutron star Interior Composition Explorer)
- Launched on June 3, 2017.
- TESS (Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite)
- Launched on April 18, 2018.
- Spektr-RG
- Launched on July 13, 2019.
- CHEOPS (Characterizing Exoplanet Satellite)
- Launched on December 18, 2019.
- James Webb Space Telescope (JWST)
- Launched on December 25, 2021.
- ATHENA (Advanced Telescope for High Energy Astrophysics)
- Launch Date: Planned for the late 2020s.
- Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope
- Scheduled for launch in the late 2020s.
- LISA (Laser Interferometer Space Antenna)
- Launch Date: Planned for 2030s.
- Lynx X-ray Observatory
- Launch Date: Proposed for the 2030s.
