Chandra

Advanced X-ray Astrophysics Facility (AXAF), renamed Chandra X-ray Observatory, as the nickname of Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar, a nobel price holder which studied evolution of stars.

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General

Designation	25867 / 99040B
Launch date	23 Jul 1999
Country of origin	United States
Operator	NASA
Mission	Scientific: X-ray astronomy
Perigee/Apogee	10000/140000 km
Inclination	28.5°
Period	64 hours
Launch vehicle	STS 93 with IUS-27

Designed to observe X-rays from high energy regions of the universe, such as hot gas in the remnants of exploded stars.

The launch was delayed several time, including in Jan 1999 when TRW reported conductivity problems on multi-layered circuit boards.

The satellite is suffering from a build-up of grease on an optical filter in front of one of Advanced CCD Imaging Spectrometer, blocking almost half the light at some frequencies. A heater might be used in spring 2004 to bakeout the lubricant.

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External resources

http://xrtpub.harvard.edu/pub.html

http://asc.harvard.edu/
http://chandra.harvard.edu/
sat-index articles

Technical data

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Specifications

Prime contractor	TRW
Platform
Mass at launch	5200 kg
Mass in orbit
Dimension	15 m deployed
Solar array	9 m span
Stabilization
DC power
Design lifetime	5 years

10 m focal length telescope
ACIS: camera with 10 X-ray CCD imagers based on Astro D technology
HRC: camera similar to Rosat technology

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