The Galaxy Evolution Explorer (GALEX) is a NASA Small Explorer Class mission that is investigating the causes and evolution of star formation in galaxies over the history of the Universe

GALEX is an orbiting ultraviolet space telescope that was launched on April 28, 2003. A Pegasus rocket placed GALEX into a nearly circular orbit at an altitude of 697 km (432 miles) and an inclination to the Earth's equator of 29 degrees.

GALEX is a leg of Around the World in 80 Telescopes tour: Click to play; click  (lower right) to view video full screen Next stop: NASA's Chandra (previous stop: LIGO)

The first observation was dedicated to the crew of the Space Shuttle Columbia and images the sky in the constellation Hercules, taken on May 21, 2003. This region was selected because it had been directly overhead the shuttle at the time of its last contact with NASA Mission Control. ^[1] 

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