#10
Chandra flies 200 times higher than Hubble - more than 1/3 of the way to the moon!
#9
Chandra can observe X-rays from clouds of gas so vast that it takes light five million years to go from one side to the other!
#8
During maneuvers from one target to the next, Chandra slews more slowly than the minute hand on a clock.
#7
At 45 feet long, Chandra is the largest satellite the shuttle has ever launched!
#6
If Colorado were as smooth as Chandra's mirrors, Pikes Peak would be less than one inch tall!
#5
Chandra's resolving power is equivalent to the ability to read a stop sign at a distance of twelve miles.
#4
The electrical power required to operate the Chandra spacecraft and instruments is 2 kilowatts, about the same power as a hair dryer.
#3
The light from some of the quasars observed by Chandra will have been traveling through space for ten billion years.
#2
STS-93, the space mission that deployed Chandra, was the first NASA shuttle mission commanded
by a woman.
by a woman.
#1
Chandra can observe X-rays from particles up to the last second before they fall into a black hole!!!
For more information on the Top Ten Facts, see our Behind the Facts section.
Revised: September 26, 2008