The Far Ultraviolet Spectroscopic Explorer (FUSE), launched on June 24, 1999, covers the 905-1187 Å spectral region and will obtain high resolution spectra of hot and cool stars, AGNs, supernova remnants, planetary nebulae, solar system objects as well as perform detailed studies of the interstellar medium. FUSE will be able to observe sources 10 000 times fainter than Copernicus, an early FUV mission, and has superior resolving power than the Hopkins Ultraviolet Telescope (HUT) and the Berkeley Spectrograph (BEFS) and the Tübingen Echelle Spectrograph (TUES) of the Orbiting Retrievable Far and Extreme Ultraviolet Spectrometers (ORFEUS). FUSE was planned for a 3 year lifetime with funding for an additional 2 years expected.