WISE

WISE Snug in Its Nose Cone

November 30th, 2009

NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer has been wrapped in the outer nose cone, or "fairing," that will protect it during its scheduled Dec. 9 launch from Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif.

Heavy Lifting - Vandenberg Air Force Base

November 24th, 2009

United Launch Alliance workers position a Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer satellite for emplacement onto an ULA Delta II rocket.

WISE a Bit Closer to the Sky

November 23rd, 2009

NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer, or WISE, is now perched atop its rocket in preparations for a Dec. 9 liftoff.

WISE Installed on Delta II Rocket

November 20th, 2009

This morning, from 3:30 - 7:30 am pacific, some of the team watched WISE get moved from the Astrotech processing facility to the SLC-2 tower, hoisted up and installed on top of our Delta II rocket.

NASA's WISE Gets Ready to Survey the Whole Sky

November 17th, 2009

NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer, or WISE, is chilled out, sporting a sunshade and getting ready to roll.

Nov. 17 NASA WISE Press Conference

November 17th, 2009

Wise is chilled out, sporting a sunshade and getting ready to roll. NASA's newest spacecraft is scheduled to roll to the pad on Friday, Nov. 20, its last stop before launching into space to survey the entire sky in infrared light.

WISE Is Chilling Out

November 11th, 2009

Engineers are busy cooling the science instrument on NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer, or WISE.

WISE Featured on 365 Days of Astronomy Podcast

November 3rd, 2009

Today, WISE is the featured podcast for the 365 days of Astronomy. This is a project for the International Year of Astronomy.

WISE Cooling Down for Final Time

October 29th, 2009

WISE is being cooled down for the last time and filled with frozen hydrogen, a process that will continue for the next few weeks. Tests completed Oct. 23 and 24 of the cold performance showed the instrument continues to work as expected. When WISE warms up, it will be in orbit and have completed its infrared survey of the sky.

WISE in Processing Facility at Vandenberg Air Force Base

October 26th, 2009

The WISE spacecraft is in the processing facility at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California, surrounded by equipment used to fill the instrument with its supply of frozen hydrogen. On October 21, WISE began cooling for the last time: the instrument will not become warm again until the cryogenic survey is completed in orbit.