NASA InfraRed Telescope Facility

What NASA InfraRed Telescope Facility does

The NASA Infrared Telescope Facility (IRTF) is a 3-meter infrared telescope facility located at 13,796 feet elevation on Mauna Kea Observatory in Hawaii. Established in 1979 and operated by the University of Hawaii Institute for Astronomy under NASA contract (80HQTR24DA010), IRTF functions as a federally-funded national astronomical research facility. The facility maintains approximately 30 staff members across four locations: the Manoa administrative headquarters in Honolulu, the Hilo operations office at 640 N. Aohoku Place, the Hale Pohaku mid-level support facility, and the Mauna Kea Summit observing site. IRTF serves two primary research communities: Solar System science (planetary defense, asteroid/comet characterization, NEO follow-up for NASA's NEO Surveyor mission) and non-Solar System astrophysics (stellar evolution, brown dwarfs, exoplanets, galactic and extragalactic astronomy), with time allocated 50/50 between the two programs.

IRTF's instrument suite is centered on near- to mid-infrared spectroscopy and imaging. Core instruments include SpeX (0.7-5.3 micron spectrograph/imager with R=50-2,500), iSHELL (1.06-5.3 micron cross-dispersed echelle spectrograph up to R=80,000), MORIS (Andor CCD optical guider/imager), MIRSI/MOC (5-20 micron mid-IR camera with grism spectrograph), 'Opihi (17-inch wide-angle finder with 32 arcmin FOV), and FELIX (off-axis 2x2 Shack-Hartmann wavefront sensor using Andor iXon-897 EM-CCD). The Adaptive Secondary Mirror (ASM) successfully completed testing in October 2025, demonstrating a 1.6x throughput improvement in enhanced seeing mode using SpeX SXD mode. SPECTRE, a 0.4-4.2 micron integral field spectrograph, is in development with planned first light in late 2028. Data products flow to NASA/IPAC Infrared Science Archive (IRSA) after a 12-month proprietary period (2025A and later).

IRTF does not generate commercial revenue and operates as a public-sector research facility. Telescope time is allocated at no cost to researchers through a competitive Dual-Anonymous Peer Review (DAPR) process managed by the Telescope Allocation Committee (TAC), with bonus weighting for NASA strategic priorities including planetary defense. Funding flows entirely through the NASA research contract. The facility is led by Director John Rayner and Deputy Director Warren Skidmore. A strategic planning initiative launched in September 2025, incorporating input from over 200 community members, is shaping the roadmap for the next several decades with particular emphasis on planetary defense and small-body characterization.

Name

NASA InfraRed Telescope Facility

Legal name

NASA Infrared Telescope Facility

Website

https://irtfweb.ifa.hawaii.edu

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

The NASA Infrared Telescope Facility (IRTF) is a 3-meter infrared telescope on Mauna Kea, Hawaii, operated by the University of Hawaii Institute for Astronomy under NASA contract. It provides peer-reviewed infrared observing time to global astronomy researchers via Dual-Anonymous Peer Review.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Honolulu

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices4 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Others

Revenue model

1. NASA Research Contract: IRTF is operated by the University of Hawaii under contract 80HQTR24DA010 with NASA. Funding supports operations, instrumentation development, and facility maintenance.
2. Government Grant Funding: Funded by NASA as a national astronomical research facility, supporting the broader US federal science mission and planetary defense initiatives.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

The IRTF is a NASA-funded 3-meter infrared telescope facility on Mauna Kea, Hawaii, operated by the University of Hawaii Institute for Astronomy. It provides competitively allocated observing time, facility infrared spectrographs and imagers, and calibrated archival data products to the U.S. and international astronomical research community.

Product overview

NASA InfraRed Telescope Facility (IRTF) is a 3-meter infrared telescope at Mauna Kea Observatory operated by the University of Hawaii under NASA contract. The facility provides astronomers access to infrared instrumentation through a shared-risk observing program. The core instrument suite includes SpeX (0.7-5.3 micron near-infrared spectrograph/imager), iSHELL (1.06-5.3 micron echelle spectrograph), MORIS (optical guider/imager), MIRSI/MOC (mid-infrared camera/spectrograph), and 'Opihi (wide-angle finder). Supporting systems include FELIX (off-axis wavefront sensor and guider) and the Adaptive Secondary Mirror for seeing enhancement. Data reduction is facilitated through Spextool/Xtellcor software packages and the freia remote workstation. Remote observing is standard across all facility instruments. Visitor instruments like TEXES are also supported through the Multiple Instrument Mount (MIM) system.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• SpeX: 0.7-5.3 micron medium-resolution spectrograph and imager, primary facility instrument
• iSHELL
• MORIS
• MIRSI
• 'Opihi
• Felix
• SPECTRE
• TEXES
• freia

Products and services

• SpeX

Named customers2 records

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration7 records

AI capability2 records

Feature8 records

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered strategic and core.

• MIT-Lincoln LaboratorystrategicTechnology or Integration · 1 January 2026Contract signed for cold optical channel CCD for SPECTRE instrument - one science grade plus spare device, sourced from NASA TESS project spares.
• University of Hawaii Institute for AstronomycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerIRTF is operated by the Institute for Astronomy at University of Hawaii Manoa. Provides institutional infrastructure, staff, and operational support for the facility.
• NASA/IPAC Infrared Science Archive (IRSA)coreTechnology or IntegrationIRTF Data Archive is hosted by NASA/IPAC Infrared Science Archive, providing public access to raw data files following proprietary period.
• TEXES Instrument TeamstrategicStrategic or Co-development PartnerPI-led visitor instrument with collaborative arrangement. Contact: Tommy Greathouse (SwRI). TEXES is a 5-20 micron high-resolution spectrograph available on rotational basis.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves6 records

Direct peers

• W. M. Keck Observatory: Operates twin 10-meter optical/infrared telescopes on Mauna Kea, also supported by NASA and the University of California system. Shares the same observing site, similar TAC-managed time allocation for NASA users, and overlapping instrumentation for infrared spectroscopy of solar system and astrophysical targets.
• Subaru Telescope (NAOJ): 8.2-meter optical/infrared telescope on Mauna Kea operated by Japan's National Astronomical Observatory. Shares the same observing environment, similar infrared instrumentation priorities, and serves a comparable research community across planetary science and extragalactic astronomy.
• Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope (CFHT): 3.6-meter telescope also on Mauna Kea operated by a university consortium with a similar mix of solar system and astrophysics science. Comparable facility scale, instrument-development model, and remote observing operations make it a near-direct peer for IRTF.

Broad incumbents

• Gemini Observatory (NSF NOIRLab): Twin 8-meter optical/infrared telescopes in Hawaii and Chile operated by NSF. Larger aperture and broader international user base make it an incumbent peer covering overlapping science with IRTF, particularly for time-domain infrared follow-up.
• Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI) - Hubble & JWST: Operates NASA's primary space-based infrared observatories (JWST, Hubble). While space-based rather than ground-based, STScI manages competing infrared observing programs and sets peer-reviewed time allocation standards (e.g., Dual-Anonymous Peer Review) that IRTF also adopts.
• European Southern Observatory (ESO) - La Silla/Paranal: Operates the Very Large Telescope (VLT) and other infrared-capable facilities in Chile. Serves as a comparable federal/intergovernmental research infrastructure model and competes for infrared spectroscopy time globally.

Regional players

• Lowell Observatory: Private research observatory in Arizona with a long history of solar system science, including asteroid and planetary defense work for NASA. Comparable mid-aperture infrared capability (e.g., DCT 4.3-meter) and similar role serving NASA planetary defense programs.
• Palomar Observatory (Caltech): Operates the 200-inch Hale Telescope and other instruments for Caltech and partners. Comparable university-operated research observatory model focused on time-domain and solar system science, including NEO follow-up similar to IRTF.

Others

• NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) - Planetary Defense: While not an observatory, JPL's planetary defense and NEO Surveyor programs directly drive demand for IRTF's characterization capabilities. JPL functions as a key programmatic partner and downstream consumer of IRTF's solar system science outputs.

Emerging players

• Thirty Meter Telescope (TMT) International Observatory: Planned 30-meter next-generation infrared/optical telescope also targeted for Mauna Kea. Represents the future evolution of Mauna Kea-based infrared observing and the most direct competitive threat to IRTF's role in the next decade, contingent on construction progress.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/nasa-irtf

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about NASA InfraRed Telescope Facility