On this day in space: Jan. 26, 1978: International Ultraviolet Explorer launched

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On January 26, 1978, the International Ultraviolet Explorer launched into orbit on a mission to study ultraviolet light emitted by stars and other bright objects in the universe.

On January 26, 1978, the International Ultraviolet Explorer launched into orbit on a mission to study ultraviolet light emitted by stars and other bright objects in the universe.

An artist's illustration of the International Ultraviolet Explorer satellite, which launched in 1978 to study ultraviolet light from distant stars. (Image credit: European Space Agency)

The mission was a joint project between NASA and the European Space Agency, and it lasted more than 18 years before budget cuts led to its decommissioning. The derelict satellite is still in orbit around the Earth today.

On This Day in Space: See our full 365-day video archive!

Hanneke Weitering
Hanneke Weitering
Contributing expert

Hanneke Weitering is a multimedia journalist in the Pacific Northwest reporting on the future of aviation at FutureFlight.aero and Aviation International News and was previously the Editor for Spaceflight and Astronomy news here at Space.com. As an editor with over 10 years of experience in science journalism she has previously written for Scholastic Classroom Magazines, MedPage Today and The Joint Institute for Computational Sciences at Oak Ridge National Laboratory. After studying physics at the University of Tennessee in her hometown of Knoxville, she earned her graduate degree in Science, Health and Environmental Reporting (SHERP) from New York University. Hanneke joined the Space.com team in 2016 as a staff writer and producer, covering topics including spaceflight and astronomy. She currently lives in Seattle, home of the Space Needle, with her cat and two snakes. In her spare time, Hanneke enjoys exploring the Rocky Mountains, basking in nature and looking for dark skies to gaze at the cosmos. 

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