
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- At Launch Pad 39B, the payload canister carrying the Chandra X-ray Observatory begins its ascent up the Rotating Service Structure (RSS) to the Payload Changeout Room. Umbilical hoses, which maintain a controlled environment for the observatory, are still attached to the payload canister transporter below that transferred the observatory from the Vertical Processing Facility. The observatory will be moved into the payload bay of the Space Shuttle Columbia, seen in the background, after the RSS rotates to a position behind Columbia. The world's most powerful X-ray telescope, Chandra will allow scientists from around the world to see previously invisible black holes and high-temperature gas clouds, giving the observatory the potential to rewrite the books on the structure and evolution of our universe. Chandra is scheduled for launch no earlier than July 20 aboard Space Shuttle Columbia, on mission STS-93
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NASA ID
KSC-99pp0764
Date Created
June 24, 1999
Center
KSC
Media Type
image
Location
Kennedy Space Center, FL
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Medium
960px