Radiometry has been of fundamental importance in astronomy from the early beginnings. In this review, we provide an overview of how to achieve a valid laboratory calibration of space telescopes and discuss ways to reliably extend this calibration to the spectroscopic telescope's performance in space. Recently, the quest for independent calibrations traceable to laboratory standards has become a well-supported aim and has led to plans for launching calibration rockets for the visible and infrared spectral range. A survey of the calibration of instruments observing from the X-ray to the infrared spectral domains rounds off this review.
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