OAO
NASA’s OAO (Orbiting Astronomical Observatory) program was a series of four satellites that launched between 1966 and 1972, two of which were successful. These missions included OAO 2 (Stargazer) and OAO 3 (Copernicus), the direct ancestors of Hubble, Chandra, Swift, and many other astronomy satellites.
past Mission
Type
Space telescope
First Launch
April 8, 1966
wavelength
Multiwavelength
last launch
Aug. 21, 1972
Featured Story
50 Years Ago, NASA’s Copernicus Set the Bar for Space Astronomy
At 6:28 a.m. EDT on Aug. 21, 1972, NASA’s Copernicus satellite, the heaviest and most complex space telescope of its…
Read the Story
An artist's concept of OAO 2, nicknamed Stargazer, in orbit around Earth.
Credit: NASA
Featured Story
NASA’s First Stellar Observatory, OAO 2, Turns 50
At 3:40 a.m. EST on Saturday, Dec. 7, 1968, just three weeks before the highly anticipated launch of Apollo 8…
Read the Story
