Chandra Deployment

Shuttle puts telescope in orbit, and shatters a glass ceiling

By Marcia Dunn, Associated Press, 07/24/99

                   CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - Space shuttle Columbia's astronauts
                   flawlessly released the world's most powerful X-ray telescope into
                  orbit yesterday on the first US space flight commanded by a woman.

                  Air Force Colonel Eileen Collins announced the news seven hours into the
                  shuttle journey: ''Chandra's on its way to open the eyes of X-ray astronomy
                  to the world.''

                  Unlike the shuttle launch, which was marred by a short circuit and a
                  premature engine cutoff, the release of the $1.5 billion Chandra X-ray
                  Observatory went smoothly.

                  The gold- and silver-colored 45-foot telescope gleamed as it drifted off into
                  the sunset on a five-year voyage to search for signs of black holes and dark
                  matter, and to survey galaxies, quasars, and erupting stars.

''There is nothing as beautiful as Chandra sailing off on its way to work,'' said
astronaut Cady Coleman, who flipped the ejection switch.

                  An hour later, a rocket motor propelled the telescope into a deliberately
                  lopsided orbit that will eventually have a high point of 87,000 miles, or
                  one-third of the way to the moon. It will take 10 days for the telescope to
                  reach its intended orbit.

The five astronauts cheered when notified that the motor had worked; a
similar motor malfunctioned on a military satellite in April.

The first images are expected in three to four weeks.

''This is an absolutely tremendous day for science,'' said Roger Brissenden,
science flight director at the Chandra control center in Cambridge, Mass.

NASA's space shuttles had never carried such a massive load before.
Chandra weighed 50,000 pounds at launch.

                  Collins's debut as the first woman to command a US space flight was
                  postponed twice this week, first by faulty hydrogen measurements, then by
                  lightning. The 42-year-old former test pilot flew twice before as a shuttle
                  copilot.

                  Columbia's 81/2-minute climb to orbit was more nerve-racking than usual.
                  Collins was barely nine seconds into her flight when she radioed that she had
                  a problem with one of the shuttle's fuel cells, which generate electricity.

Twenty-eight seconds later, after scrutinizing the data, Mission Control
informed Collins that the problem appeared to be a short circuit.

The drop in voltage caused the electronic controller to fail on two of
Columbia's three main engines. But each engine has a backup controller.

                  In addition, Columbia ended up 7 miles short of its intended orbit when the
                  engines cut off one second early because of an insufficient supply of liquid
                  oxygen.