8.07.

2023 16:39 Chandra X-ray Observatory - Wikipedia

Chandra X-ray Observatory

Chandra X-ray Observatory

Illustration of Chandra
Names Advanced X-ray Astrophysics Facility (AXAF)

Mission type X-ray astronomy

Operator NASA / SAO / CXC
COSPAR ID 1999-040B (https://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/nmc/spacecraft/display.action?id=1999-040B)
SATCAT no. 25867
Website https://chandra.harvard.edu/
Mission duration Planned: 5 years
Elapsed: 23 years, 11 months, 12 days

Spacecraft properties
Manufacturer TRW Inc.
Launch mass 5,860 kg (12,930 lb)[1]
Dry mass 4,790 kg (10,560 lb)[1]
Dimensions Deployed: 13.8 × 19.5 m (45.3 × 64.0 ft)[2]
Stowed: 11.8 × 4.3 m (38.7 × 14.0 ft)[1]
Power 2,350 W[2]

Start of mission
Launch date July 23, 1999, 04:30:59.984 UTC[3]
Rocket Space Shuttle Columbia (STS-93)
Launch site Kennedy LC-39B

Orbital parameters
Reference system Geocentric
Regime Highly elliptical
Semi-major axis 80,795.9 km (50,204.2 mi)
Eccentricity 0.743972
Perigee altitude 14,307.9 km (8,890.5 mi)
Apogee altitude 134,527.6 km (83,591.6 mi)

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Inclination 76.7156°
Period 3809.3 min
RAAN 305.3107°
Argument of 267.2574°
perigee
Mean anomaly 0.3010°
Mean motion 0.3780 rev/day
Epoch September 4, 2015, 04:37:54 UTC[4]
Revolution no. 1358

Main telescope
Type Wolter type 1[5]
Diameter 1.2 m (3.9 ft)[2]
Focal length 10.0 m (32.8 ft)[2]
Collecting area 0.04 m2 (0.43 sq ft)[2]
Wavelengths X-ray: 0.12–12 nm (0.1–10 keV)[6]
Resolution 0.5 arcsec[2]
Instruments [show]
ACIS Advanced CCD Imaging Spectrometer
HRC High Resolution Camera
HETG High Energy Transmission Grating
LETG Low Energy Transmission Grating
Great Observatories
 

The Chandra X-ray Observatory (CXO), previously known as the Advanced X-ray
Astrophysics Facility (AXAF), is a Flagship-class space telescope launched aboard the
Space Shuttle Columbia during STS-93 by NASA on July 23, 1999. Chandra is sensitive to X-ray
sources 100 times fainter than any previous X-ray telescope, enabled by the high angular
resolution of its mirrors. Since the Earth's atmosphere absorbs the vast majority of X-rays, they
are not detectable from Earth-based telescopes; therefore space-based telescopes are required to
make these observations. Chandra is an Earth satellite in a 64-hour orbit, and its mission is
ongoing as of 2023.

Chandra is one of the Great Observatories, along with the Hubble Space Telescope, Compton
Gamma Ray Observatory (1991–2000), and the Spitzer Space Telescope (2003–2020). The
telescope is named after the Nobel Prize-winning Indian-American astrophysicist Subrahmanyan
Chandrasekhar.[7] Its mission is similar to that of ESA's XMM-Newton spacecraft, also launched in
1999 but the two telescopes have different design foci, as Chandra has a much higher angular
resolution.

History
In 1976 the Chandra X-ray Observatory (called AXAF at the time) was proposed to NASA by
Riccardo Giacconi and Harvey Tananbaum. Preliminary work began the following year at Marshall
Space Flight Center (MSFC) and the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory (SAO), where the
telescope is now operated for NASA[8] at the Chandra X-ray Center in the Center for Astrophysics |
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Harvard & Smithsonian. In the meantime, in 1978, NASA launched the first imaging X-ray
telescope, Einstein (HEAO-2), into orbit. Work continued on the AXAF project throughout the
1980s and 1990s. In 1992, to reduce costs, the spacecraft was redesigned. Four of the twelve
planned mirrors were eliminated, as were two of the six scientific instruments. AXAF's planned
orbit was changed to an elliptical one, reaching one third of the way to the Moon's at its farthest
point. This eliminated the possibility of improvement or repair by the Space Shuttle but put the
observatory above the Earth's radiation belts for most of its orbit. AXAF was assembled and tested
by TRW (now Northrop Grumman Aerospace Systems) in Redondo Beach, California.

AXAF was renamed Chandra as part of a contest held by NASA

in 1998, which drew more than 6,000 submissions
worldwide.[9] The contest winners, Jatila van der Veen and
Tyrel Johnson (then a high school teacher and high school
student, respectively), suggested the name in honor of Nobel
Prize–winning Indian-American astrophysicist Subrahmanyan
Chandrasekhar. He is known for his work in determining the
maximum mass of white dwarf stars, leading to greater
understanding of high energy astronomical phenomena such
as neutron stars and black holes.[7] Fittingly, the name
Space Shuttle Columbia, STS-93
Chandra means "moon" in Sanskrit.[10]
launches in 1999

Originally scheduled to be launched in December 1998,[9] the

spacecraft was delayed several months, eventually being
launched on July 23, 1999, at 04:31 UTC by Space Shuttle Columbia during STS-93. Chandra was
deployed by Cady Coleman[11] from Columbia at 11:47 UTC. The Inertial Upper Stage's first stage
motor ignited at 12:48  UTC, and after burning for 125 seconds and separating, the second stage
ignited at 12:51 UTC and burned for 117 seconds.[12] At 22,753 kilograms (50,162 lb),[1] it was the
heaviest payload ever launched by the shuttle, a consequence of the two-stage Inertial Upper Stage
booster rocket system needed to transport the spacecraft to its high orbit.

Chandra has been returning data since the month after it launched. It is operated by the SAO at
the Chandra X-ray Center in Cambridge, Massachusetts, with assistance from MIT and Northrop
Grumman Space Technology. The ACIS CCDs suffered particle damage during early radiation belt
passages. To prevent further damage, the instrument is now removed from the telescope's focal
plane during passages.

Although Chandra was initially given an expected lifetime of 5 years, on September 4, 2001, NASA
extended its lifetime to 10 years "based on the observatory's outstanding results."[13] Physically
Chandra could last much longer. A 2004 study performed at the Chandra X-ray Center indicated
that the observatory could last at least 15 years.[14] It is active as of 2022 and has an upcoming
schedule of observations published by the Chandra X-ray Center.[15]

In July 2008, the International X-ray Observatory, a joint project between ESA, NASA and JAXA,
was proposed as the next major X-ray observatory but was later cancelled.[16] ESA later
resurrected a downsized version of the project as the Advanced Telescope for High Energy
Astrophysics (ATHENA), with a proposed launch in 2028.[17]

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