Space Infrared Telescope Facility (SIRTF) Before Launch

At the time of launch, the Spitzer Space Telescope bore its original name: the Space Infrared Telescope Facility (SIRTF). It's shown here in the mobile service tower on Launch Pad 17-B, Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, waiting for encapsulation.

NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif., manages the Spitzer Space Telescope mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington. Science operations are conducted at the Spitzer Science Center at the California Institute of Technology, also in Pasadena. Caltech manages JPL for NASA.

More information on Spitzer can be found here:

http://www.spitzer.caltech.edu/