Nasa launches £2bn telescope to discover how the stars are born

The world's most advanced infrared space telescope, which will try to penetrate the hidden mysteries of the birth of stars, was launched by Nasa yesterday.

The $2bn (£1.27bn) Space Infrared Telescope Facility (SITF) will study objects obscured by gas and dust and which cannot be detected by existing light telescopes, such as the Hubble observatory. In its extraordinary photographs from the Eagle nebula, Hubble captured images of young stars emerging from pillars of cloud three billion years ago. Scientists now hope that SITF will be able to look inside those pillars and other cloud formations to obtain more information on the "birth" of stars by detecting emissions of infrared energy.

SITF began its journey into space on a Boeing rocket from Cape Canaveral in Florida. It will orbit from two to five years, gradually penetrating deeper into space. Many British scientists will be among those analysing its images. Michael Rowan-Robinson, of Imperial College, London, said: "By looking back through almost 90 per cent of the universe's history, we shall be able [to study] a period when star formation was much more frequent than it is today. This will enable us to trace the evolution of star formation from very early times."

The launch completes Nasa's Great Observatories Programme. The Hubble telescope, launched in 1990 and operational three years later, sees images in conventional fashion while the Chandra X-ray observatory looks at a different part of the spectrum.

There is growing concern among scientists about the future of the Hubble telescope. It is to come out of service in 2010. A replacement is planned for the following year, but could easily be delayed. It is doubtful whether Hubble can survive until then without servicing by the space shuttle, which is grounded until the inquiry into the Columbia disaster ends.