Chandra observatory onboard space shuttle. View of NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory (silver) just before its release from the cargo bay of space shutt
Chandra observatory onboard space shuttle. View of NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory (silver) just before its release from the cargo bay of space shuttle Columbia during mission STS-93. Part of the Earth can be seen at lower left. Chandra was launched into Earth orbit onboard the STS-93 mission, which took place between 23rd and 27th July 1999. It carries the most powerful X-ray telescope ever built (as of 2015) and is used to study high-energy phenomena such as prospective black holes and quasars. It was originally only planned to operate for five years but has now been operational for over 16 years (as of 2015). Onboard Columbia were mission commander Eileen M. Collins, pilot Jeffrey S. Ashby and mission specialists Catherine G. Coleman, Steven A. Hawley and Michel Tognini. Image taken by one of the Crew onboard Columbia.
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Photo credit: © NASA/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
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