In response to a decrease in NASA funding in 2024 by theUS Congress, Chandra is threatened with an early cancellation despite having more than a decade of operation left. The cancellation has been referred to as a potential "extinction-level" event forX-ray astronomy in the US.[8] A group of astronomers have put together a public outreach project to try to get enough American citizens to persuade the US Congress to provide enough funding to avoid early termination of the observatory.[9]
In 1976, the Chandra X-ray Observatory (called AXAF at the time) was proposed to NASA byRiccardo Giacconi and Harvey Tananbaum. Preliminary work began the following year atMarshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) and theSmithsonian Astrophysical Observatory (SAO), where the telescope is now operated for NASA[10] at the Chandra X-ray Center in theCenter for Astrophysics | 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 theSpace Shuttle but put the observatory above the Earth'sradiation belts for most of its orbit. AXAF was assembled and tested byTRW (nowNorthrop Grumman Aerospace Systems) inRedondo Beach,California.
AXAF was renamed Chandra as part of a contest held by NASA in 1998, which drew more than 6,000 submissions worldwide.[11] 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–winningIndian-AmericanastrophysicistSubrahmanyan Chandrasekhar. He is known for his work in determining themaximum mass ofwhite dwarf stars, leading to greater understanding of high energy astronomical phenomena such asneutron stars andblack holes.[7] Fittingly, the name Chandra means "moon" inSanskrit.[12]
Originally scheduled to be launched in December 1998,[11] the spacecraft was delayed several months, eventually being launched on July 23, 1999, at 04:31 UTC bySpace ShuttleColumbia duringSTS-93. Chandra was deployed byCady Coleman[13] fromColumbia 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.[14] At 22,753 kilograms (50,162 lb),[1] it was the heaviest payload ever launched by the shuttle, a consequence of the two-stageInertial 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 inCambridge, Massachusetts, with assistance fromMIT andNorthrop 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."[15] 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.[16] It is active as of 2024 and has an upcoming schedule of observations published by the Chandra X-ray Center.[17]
On October 10, 2018, Chandra entered safe mode operations, due to a gyroscope glitch. NASA reported that all science instruments were safe.[20][21] Within days, the 3-second error in data from one gyro was understood, and plans were made to return Chandra to full service. The gyroscope that experienced the glitch was placed in reserve and is otherwise healthy.[22]
In March 2024, Congress decided to reduce funding for NASA and its missions.This may lead to the premature end of this mission.[23]In June 2024, Senators urged NASA to reconsider the cuts to Chandra, which was accepted.[24]
The data gathered by Chandra has greatly advanced the field ofX-ray astronomy. Here are some examples of discoveries supported by observations from Chandra:
In theCrab Nebula, another supernova remnant, Chandra showed a never-before-seen ring around the centralpulsar and jets that had only been partially seen by earlier telescopes.[27]
Chandra data suggested thatRX J1856.5-3754 and3C58, previously thought to be pulsars, might be even denser objects:quark stars. These results are still debated.
2006 Chandra found strong evidence that dark matter exists by observing super cluster collision.[36]
2006 X-ray emitting loops, rings and filaments discovered around asuper massive black hole withinMessier 87 imply the presence of pressure waves, shock waves and sound waves. The evolution ofMessier 87 may have been dramatically affected.[37]
Jupiter's x-rays coming from poles, not auroral ring.[39]
A large halo of hot gas was found surrounding the Milky Way.[40]
Extremely dense and luminous dwarf galaxyM60-UCD1 observed.[41]
On January 5, 2015, NASA reported that CXO observed anX-ray flare 400 times brighter than usual, a record-breaker, fromSagittarius A*, thesupermassive black hole in the center of theMilky Way galaxy. The unusual event may have been caused by the breaking apart of anasteroid falling into the black hole or by the entanglement ofmagnetic field lines within gas flowing into Sagittarius A*, according to astronomers.[42]
In September 2016, it was announced that Chandra had detected X-ray emissions fromPluto, the first detection of X-rays from aKuiper belt object. Chandra had made the observations in 2014 and 2015, supporting theNew Horizons spacecraft for its July 2015 encounter.[43]
In September 2020, Chandra reportedly may have made an observation of anexoplanet in theWhirlpool Galaxy, which would be the first planet discovered beyond the Milky Way.[44][45][46]
In April 2021, NASA announced findings from the observatory in a tweet saying "Uranus gives off X-rays, astronomers find". The discovery would have "intriguing implications for understanding Uranus" if it is confirmed that the X-rays originate from the planet and are not emitted by the Sun.[47]
Assembly of the telescopeThe main mirror of AXAF (Chandra)HRC flight unit of Chandra
Unlikeoptical telescopes which possess simple aluminizedparabolic surfaces (mirrors), X-ray telescopes generally use aWolter telescope consisting of nested cylindricalparaboloid andhyperboloid surfaces coated withiridium orgold. X-rayphotons would be absorbed by normal mirror surfaces, so mirrors with a low grazing angle are necessary to reflect them. Chandra uses four pairs of nested mirrors, together with their support structure, called theHigh Resolution Mirror Assembly (HRMA); the mirror substrate is 2 cm-thick glass, with the reflecting surface a 33 nm iridium coating, and the diameters are 65 cm, 87 cm, 99 cm and 123 cm.[48] The thick substrate and particularly careful polishing allowed a very precise optical surface, which is responsible for Chandra's unmatched resolution: between 80% and 95% of the incoming X-ray energy is focused into a one-arcsecond circle. However, the thickness of the substrate limits the proportion of the aperture which is filled, leading to the low collecting area compared toXMM-Newton.
Chandra's highlyelliptical orbit allows it to observe continuously for up to 55 hours of its 65-hourorbital period. At its furthest orbital point from Earth, Chandra is one of the most distant Earth-orbiting satellites. This orbit takes it beyond the geostationary satellites and beyond the outerVan Allen belt.[49]
With anangular resolution of 0.5arcsecond (2.4 μrad), Chandra possesses a resolution over 1000 times better than that of the first orbiting X-ray telescope.
CXO uses mechanicalgyroscopes,[50] which are sensors that help determine what direction the telescope is pointed.[51] Other navigation and orientation systems on board CXO include an aspect camera, Earth andSun sensors, andreaction wheels. It also has two sets of thrusters, one for movement and another for offloading momentum.[51]
The Science Instrument Module (SIM) holds the two focal plane instruments, theAdvanced CCD Imaging Spectrometer (ACIS) and theHigh Resolution Camera (HRC), moving whichever is called for into position during an observation.
ACIS consists of 10CCD chips and provides images as well asspectral information of the object observed. It operates in thephoton energy range of 0.2–10keV. The HRC has twomicro-channel plate components and images over the range of 0.1–10 keV. It also has a time resolution of 16microseconds. Both of these instruments can be used on their own or in conjunction with one of the observatory's twotransmission gratings.
^Madejski, Greg (2005).Recent and Future Observations in the X-ray and Gamma-ray Bands: Chandra, Suzaku, GLAST, and NuSTAR. Astrophysical Sources of High Energy Particles and Radiation. June 20–24, 2005. Torun, Poland. AIP Conference Proceedings. Vol. 801. p. 21.arXiv:astro-ph/0512012.doi:10.1063/1.2141828.
Launches are separated by dots ( • ), payloads by commas ( , ), multiple names for the same satellite by slashes ( / ). Crewed flights are underlined. Launch failures are marked with the † sign. Payloads deployed from other spacecraft are (enclosed in parentheses).
![Bright X-ray flare from Sagittarius A*, supermassive black hole in the Milky Way[42]](/mt/?noimg=&dark=on&url=http%3a%2f%2fen.wikipedia.org%2fwiki%2fFile%3aX-RayFlare-BlackHole-MilkyWay-20140105.jpg)
