How much did the Wide-Field Infrared Explorer (WIRE) mission cost?
The Wide-Field Infrared Explorer (WIRE) was NASA's fifth Small Explorer mission, built at Goddard and launched on a Pegasus XL on 5 March 1999 to make a four-month infrared survey of starburst galaxies and luminous protogalaxies from a 30 cm telescope cooled with solid hydrogen. A digital logic error in its pyrotechnic electronics ejected the telescope cover at once, the hydrogen coolant was lost and the satellite spun out of control, so the survey was lost within about 36 hours. The spacecraft later served as a star-monitoring astroseismology telescope until it re-entered the atmosphere on 10 May 2011. Its cost is listed as about $79 million.
Reported project cost
$79 million
Cost basis: 1999
NASA/JPLPublic domain
Cost evidence
Basis of the published figure
Reported project cost1999
Project record
Completed
NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory5 March 1999