X-RAY SATELLITES SATELLITES & SPACE PROBES A  B  C  D  E  F  G  H  I  J  K  L  M  N  O  P  Q  R  S  T  U  V  W  X  Y  Z           HOME ABOUT CATEGORIES SITE MAP COPYRIGHT ADVERTISE CONTACT entire Web this site Chandra X-ray Observatory One of NASA's four Great Observatories. After being launched by the Space Shuttle Columbia in 1999, Chandra was boosted into a high elliptical orbit from which it can make long duration, uninterrupted measurements of X-ray sources in the universe. It uses the most sensitive X-ray telescope ever built, consisting of four pairs of nearly cylindrical mirrors with diameters of 0.68–1.4m, to observe X-rays in the energy range 0.1–10keV. These mirrors focus X-rays on to two of Chandra's four science instruments: the High Resolution Camera and the CCD (charge-coupled device) Imaging Spectrometer. International participants in the mission include Britain, Germany, and the Netherlands. The Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory (SAO) in Cambridge, Massachusetts, is responsible for day-to-day flight operations and science activities from the Operations Control Center and Chandra X-ray Center (CXC) facilities. Known before launch as the Advanced X-ray Astrophysics Facility (AXAF), the observatory was renamed in honor of the distinguished Indian-American astrophysicist Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar. shuttle deployment Jul. 23, 1999 shuttle mission STS-93 orbit 10,157 × 138,672km × 29.0° length 12.2m Reference Tucker, Wllace H., and Karen Tucker. Revealing the Universe: The Making of the Chandra X-Ray Observatory. New York: Harvard University Press, 2001. Related entry    • X-ray satellites Related category    • SATELLITES AND SPACE PROBES External site Chandra homepage (NASA) Also on this site: Encyclopedia of Alternative Energy & Sustainable Living Encyclopedia of History Transport Concepts & Designs (partner site) BACK TO TOP