Full-sky Astrometric Mapping Explorer

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Full-sky Astrometric Mapping Explorer (or FAME) is an astrometric satellite designed to determine with unprecedented accuracy the positions, distances, and motions of 40 million stars within our galactic neighborhood. It is a collaborative effort between the United States Naval Observatory (USNO) and several other institutions. FAME will measure stellar positions to less than 50 microarcseconds. It is a NASA MIDEX mission that was scheduled for launch in 2004. In 2002, NASA Headquarters withdrew its sponsorship, leaving the future of the project uncertain.

FAME was a proposed space telescope, planned for launch in 2004, designed to obtain highly precise position and brightness measurements of 40 million stars. This database was to allow astronomers to accurately determine the distance to all of the stars on this side of the Milky Way galaxy, detect large planets and planetary systems around stars within 1,000 light years of the Sun, and measure the amount of dark matter in the galaxy from its influence on stellar motions.

In January 2002 NASA abruptly cancelled this mission, mainly due to concerns about its price tag which grew from $160 million to $220 million.