Space telescopes
89 satellites in orbit, 52 operating.
The count is the catalogue’s as of Nov 8, 2026, 4:17 PM; whether a satellite is operating is as Orbinauts writes it where it has written when the satellite’s mission ended, and otherwise as Jonathan McDowell’s general catalogue believes it, licensed CC BY 4.0: GCAT
A space telescope looks out from orbit, above the atmosphere: Hubble and Chandra among them. The kind is the one Orbinauts writes for the telescopes it describes, and otherwise the one GCAT gives a payload whose purpose is astronomy.
A satellite’s kind is the one Orbinauts writes for it, else its constellation’s, else the one its purpose in GCAT gives.
| Satellite | Kind | Orbit class | Launched | Operating |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | Space telescope | Low Earth orbit | Yes | |
 | Space telescope | Highly elliptical orbit | Yes | |
 | Space telescope | Highly elliptical orbit | Yes | |
 | Space telescope | Low Earth orbit | Yes | |
| Characterising Exoplanet Satellite (Cheops) | Space telescope | Low Earth orbit | Yes | |
| SPRITE | Space telescope | Low Earth orbit | Yes | |
| VERTECS | Space telescope | Low Earth orbit | Yes | |
| OBJECT E | Space telescope | Low Earth orbit | Yes | |
| PANDORA | Space telescope | Low Earth orbit | Yes | |
| OBJECT Z | Space telescope | Low Earth orbit | Yes | |
| BLACKCAT | Space telescope | Low Earth orbit | Yes | |
| MAUVE | Space telescope | Low Earth orbit | Yes | |
| PADRE | Space telescope | Low Earth orbit | Yes | |
| ARCSTONE | Space telescope | Low Earth orbit | Yes | |
| HERMES-3 | Space telescope | Low Earth orbit | Yes | |
| HERMES-5 | Space telescope | Low Earth orbit | Yes | |
| HERMES 4 | Space telescope | Low Earth orbit | Yes | |
| HERMES-6 | Space telescope | Low Earth orbit | Yes | |
| HERMES-2 | Space telescope | Low Earth orbit | Yes | |
| HERMES-1 | Space telescope | Low Earth orbit | Yes | |
| SPHEREX | Space telescope | Low Earth orbit | Yes | |
| PUNCH-WFI02 | Space telescope | Low Earth orbit | Yes | |
| PUNCH-WFI03 | Space telescope | Low Earth orbit | Yes | |
| PUNCH-WFI01 | Space telescope | Low Earth orbit | Yes | |
| PUNCH-NFI00 | Space telescope | Low Earth orbit | Yes | |
| OBJECT C | Space telescope | Low Earth orbit | Yes | |
| OBJECT B | Space telescope | Low Earth orbit | Yes | |
| OBJECT A | Space telescope | Low Earth orbit | Yes | |
| EINSTEIN PROBE | Space telescope | Low Earth orbit | Yes | |
| XPOSAT | Space telescope | Low Earth orbit | Yes | |
| XRISM | Space telescope | Low Earth orbit | Yes | |
| OBJECT C | Space telescope | Low Earth orbit | Yes | |
| OBJECT B | Space telescope | Low Earth orbit | Yes | |
| NEXTSAT-2 | Space telescope | Low Earth orbit | Yes | |
| ASO-S | Space telescope | Low Earth orbit | Yes | |
| IXPE | Space telescope | Low Earth orbit | Yes | |
| KOSEN-1 | Space telescope | Low Earth orbit | Yes | |
| OBJECT B | Space telescope | Low Earth orbit | Yes | |
| CUPID | Space telescope | Low Earth orbit | Ended | |
| NEXTSAT-1 | Space telescope | Low Earth orbit | Yes | |
| MINXSS-2 | Space telescope | Low Earth orbit | Yes | |
| STARS-AO | Space telescope | Low Earth orbit | Yes | |
| HXMT | Space telescope | Low Earth orbit | Yes | |
| ASTRO H | Space telescope | Low Earth orbit | Ended | |
| DAMPE | Space telescope | Low Earth orbit | Yes | |
| ASTROSAT | Space telescope | Low Earth orbit | Yes | |
| BRITE-PL 2 | Space telescope | Low Earth orbit | Yes | |
| BRITE TORONTO | Space telescope | Low Earth orbit | Yes | |
| BRITE-PL | Space telescope | Low Earth orbit | Ended | |
| STSAT 3 | Space telescope | Low Earth orbit | Ended | |
| SPRINT A | Space telescope | Low Earth orbit | Ended | |
| IRIS | Space telescope | Low Earth orbit | Yes | |
| BRITE-U UNIBRITE | Space telescope | Low Earth orbit | Ended | |
| BRITE-A TUGSAT-1 | Space telescope | Low Earth orbit | Yes | |
| NEOSSAT | Space telescope | Low Earth orbit | Yes | |
| CXBN | Space telescope | Low Earth orbit | Ended | |
| NUSTAR | Space telescope | Low Earth orbit | Yes | |
| PICARD | Space telescope | Low Earth orbit | Ended | |
| SDO | Space telescope | Inclined geosynchronous | Yes | |
| KORONAS-FOTON | Space telescope | Low Earth orbit | Ended | |
| COROT | Space telescope | Low Earth orbit | Ended | |
| HINODE (SOLAR B) | Space telescope | Low Earth orbit | Yes | |
| KAISTSAT 4 | Space telescope | Low Earth orbit | Ended | |
| MOST | Space telescope | Low Earth orbit | Ended | |
| GALEX | Space telescope | Low Earth orbit | Ended | |
| SORCE | Space telescope | Low Earth orbit | Ended | |
| CHIPSAT | Space telescope | Low Earth orbit | Ended | |
| INTEGRAL | Space telescope | Highly elliptical orbit | Ended | |
| ACRIMSAT | Space telescope | Low Earth orbit | Ended | |
| FUSE 1 | Space telescope | Low Earth orbit | Ended | |
| SWAS | Space telescope | Low Earth orbit | Ended | |
| HALCA (MUSES B) | Space telescope | Highly elliptical orbit | Ended | |
| ISO | Space telescope | Highly elliptical orbit | Ended | |
| ALEXIS | Space telescope | Low Earth orbit | Ended | |
| SARA | Space telescope | Low Earth orbit | Ended | |
| COBE | Space telescope | Low Earth orbit | Ended | |
| HIPPARCOS | Space telescope | Highly elliptical orbit | Ended | |
| ASTRON | Space telescope | Highly elliptical orbit | Ended | |
| IRAS | Space telescope | Low Earth orbit | Ended | |
| IUE | Space telescope | Inclined geosynchronous | Ended | |
| SOLRAD 11A | Space telescope | Medium Earth orbit | Ended | |
| OPS 8180 (STP RADSAT) | Space telescope | Low Earth orbit | Ended | |
| OAO 3 (COPERNICUS) | Space telescope | Low Earth orbit | Ended | |
| OAO 2 | Space telescope | Low Earth orbit | Ended | |
| EXPLORER 38 (RAE-A) | Space telescope | Medium Earth orbit | Ended | |
| OAO 1 | Space telescope | Low Earth orbit | Ended | |
| EXPLORER 30 | Space telescope | Low Earth orbit | Ended | |
| OPS 6582 (TRANSIT 5E-5) | Space telescope | Low Earth orbit | Ended | |
| EXPLORER 11 | Space telescope | Low Earth orbit | Ended |
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