Chandra X-ray Observatory
NASA space telescope launched in 1999 / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Dear Wikiwand AI, let's keep it short by simply answering these key questions:
Can you list the top facts and stats about Chandra X-ray Observatory?
Summarize this article for a 10 year old
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 was 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 2024[update].
Names | Advanced X-ray Astrophysics Facility (AXAF) | ||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Mission type | X-ray astronomy | ||||||||||
Operator | NASA / SAO / CXC | ||||||||||
COSPAR ID | 1999-040B | ||||||||||
SATCAT no. | 25867 | ||||||||||
Website | https://chandra.harvard.edu/ | ||||||||||
Mission duration | Planned: 5 years Elapsed: 24 years, 9 months, 3 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 (1999-07-23UTC04:30:59) 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) | ||||||||||
Inclination | 76.7156° | ||||||||||
Period | 3809.3 min | ||||||||||
RAAN | 305.3107° | ||||||||||
Argument of perigee | 267.2574° | ||||||||||
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] | ||||||||||
| |||||||||||
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 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 and XMM-Newton higher spectroscopy throughput.