SATLASThe landscape
Every facility in SATLAS, placed by passband: space-based above the axis, ground-based below. The shaded band is atmospheric opacity. Ground facilities cluster in the radio and optical windows and the partial infrared and millimetre windows; the far infrared, ultraviolet, X-rays and gamma rays need a platform above it, apart from TeV photons, seen from the ground through their air showers. Set a year to highlight what was operating then.
55 facilities
Scroll horizontally for the full spectrum.
Space-based
- ROSAT. In space, 0.1 keV–2.4 keV. Ended 12 February 1999, after starting 1 June 1990. Ended.
- WMAP. In space, 22 GHz–90 GHz. Ended 19 August 2010, after starting 30 June 2001. Ended.
- Fermi. In space, 20 MeV–300 GeV, 10 keV–25 MeV. Operating since 11 June 2008. Operating.
- Herschel. In space, 55 µm–671 µm. Ended 29 April 2013, after starting 14 May 2009. Ended.
- JWST. In space, 0.6 µm–28 µm. Operating since 25 December 2021. Operating.
- ULTRASAT. In space, 230 nm–290 nm. Launch planned for around 2027. Planned.
- Chandra. In space, 0.1 keV–10 keV. Operating since 23 July 1999. Operating.
- GALEX. In space, 135 nm–275 nm. Ended 28 June 2013, after starting 28 April 2003. Ended.
- Spitzer. In space, 3.6 µm–160 µm. Ended 30 January 2020, after starting 25 August 2003. Ended.
- Planck. In space, 30 GHz–857 GHz. Ended 23 October 2013, after starting 14 May 2009. Ended.
- Roman. In space, 0.48 µm–2.3 µm. Launched 30 August 2026, in commissioning. Commissioning.
- WISE / NEOWISE. In space, 3.4 µm–22 µm. Ended 8 August 2024, after starting 14 December 2009. Ended.
- NICER. In space, 0.2 keV–12 keV. Paused since 17 June 2025. Paused.
- CHEOPS. In space, 330 nm–1100 nm. Operating since 18 December 2019. Operating.
- LiteBIRD. In space, 34 GHz–448 GHz. Launch planned for around 2036. Planned.
- INTEGRAL. In space, 15 keV–10 MeV. End of science operations 28 February 2025, after starting 17 October 2002. Ended.
- Kepler / K2. In space, 420 nm–900 nm. Ended 30 October 2018, after starting 7 March 2009. Ended.
- eROSITA. In space, 0.2 keV–8 keV. Paused since 26 February 2022. Paused.
- NEO Surveyor. In space, 4 µm–5.2 µm, 6 µm–10 µm. Launch planned for around September 2027. Planned.
- XMM-Newton. In space, 0.15 keV–15 keV, 170 nm–650 nm. Operating since 10 December 1999. Operating.
- SPHEREx. In space, 0.75 µm–5.0 µm. Operating since 12 March 2025. Operating.
- Euclid. In space, 550 nm–900 nm, 900 nm–2 µm. Operating since 1 July 2023. Operating.
- XRISM. In space, 0.3 keV–13 keV. Operating since 6 September 2023. Operating.
- Hubble. In space, 115 nm–1.7 µm. Operating since 24 April 1990. Operating.
- Einstein Probe. In space, 0.5 keV–4 keV, 0.5 keV–10 keV. Operating since 9 January 2024. Operating.
- IXPE. In space, 2 keV–8 keV. Operating since 9 December 2021. Operating.
- Pandora. In space, 0.4 µm–1.6 µm. Operating since 11 January 2026. Operating.
Ground-based
- VLT. On the ground, 0.3 µm–20 µm. Operating since 25 May 1998. Operating.
- LOFAR. On the ground, 10 MHz–240 MHz. Paused for an upgrade, operating since 2010. Paused.
- IceCube. On the ground, 10 GeV–10 PeV. Operating since 18 December 2010. Operating.
- EHT. On the ground, 230 GHz–345 GHz. Operating since April 2017. Operating.
- MeerKAT. On the ground, 544 MHz–3.5 GHz. Operating since 13 July 2018. Operating.
- ALMA. On the ground, 35 GHz–950 GHz. Operating since 30 September 2011. Operating.
- CTAO. On the ground, 20 GeV–300 TeV. Under construction; first telescope (lst-1) expected October 2018. Under construction.
- SKA. On the ground, 50 MHz–350 MHz, 350 MHz–15.4 GHz. Under construction; science verification expected around 2027. Under construction.
- ELT. On the ground, 0.4 µm–13.5 µm. Under construction; first light expected around March 2029. Under construction.
- SDSS. On the ground, 360 nm–1000 nm, 1.51 µm–1.70 µm. Operating since April 2000. Operating.
- CHIME. On the ground, 400 MHz–800 MHz. Operating since September 2017. Operating.
- Simons Observatory. On the ground, 27 GHz–280 GHz. Operating since 2024. Operating.
Gravitational waves
Spacetime strain rather than photons, placed by each detector's sensitive frequency band.