(Space Infrared Telescope for Cosmology and Astrophysics)
(past plan for a space IR telescope)
SPICA
(for Space InfraredTelescope for Cosmology and Astrophysics)
was a proposal by Japan (JAXA) and Europe (ESA)
that aimed for a launch in the 2030 time frame.
It was passed over for a 2020 funding opportunity, and
as of 2026, no funding is in place for additional development.
It would place such a telescope at L2 orbit,
designed for high sensitivity by cooling the mirror below 8 K.
It specified a 2.5-m aperture, and a 2020s launch, but was later
revised (I presume to improve the plan's feasibility) to have a
1.8-m aperture and an early 2030s launch.
Proposed instruments:
SMI - "SPICA mid-infrared instrument", which includes SMI-LRS (low-resolutionspectroscopy), SMI-MRS (mid-resolution spectroscopy), and SMI-HRS (high-resolution spectroscopy).
Compared to JWST, its aperture would be smaller (similar
to that of HST) and its wavelength-range would cover mid
to far infrared rather than near infrared to mid infrared,
i.e., closer to the ranges of Spitzer and SOFIA.
Note the acronym SPICA is also used for a CHARA instrument in
development.