High Quality Content by WIKIPEDIA articles! The NASA Infrared Telescope Facility (NASA IRTF) is a 3-meter (9.8 ft) telescope optimized for use in infrared astronomy and located at the Mauna Kea Observatory in Hawai`i. It was first built to support the Voyager missions and is now the USA national facility for infrared astronomy, providing continued support to planetary, solar neighborhood, and deep space applications. The IRTF is operated by the University of Hawaii under a cooperative agreement with NASA. According to the IRTF`s time allocation rules, at least 50% of the observing time is devoted to planetary science.