for all Hobby Astronomers here
http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2003/18aug_xrays.htm?list582445
Years ago when astronomers were first planning NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory, they didn’t have planets in mind. Planets were too peaceful for x-ray astronomy. Chandra was going to reveal colliding galaxies, sizzling-hot whirlpools around black holes, exploding stars–in other words, violent sources of high-energy x-rays. Not planets.
that sound interesting.
all who are not knows what Chandra is
http://chandra.harvard.edu/about/
regards
Sir Ulli
Very nice press releases which hint at none of the problems and wicked cost overruns, sucking funds from other projects this observatory caused.
Here’s a less upsetting meaning of NASA.
Never A Straight Answer.
Here’s a site devoted to NASA obfuscations:
NASA Watch
Chandra was originally called AXAF (axe-aff). It was to be two satellites orbiting the Earth like Hubble. They would be serviced, have computers and instruments swapped out for variety of observation, take advantage of new technology and replace broken parts. The problem is Congress would be unlikely to authorize the money required for such an ambitious project. So, rather than properly explain all of the excellent reasons why AXAF was important to scientists, they low-balled a cost number to the Congress.
The long road to where we are was a tortuous one.
It started with the spy satellite manufactures saying “sure we can build it, it’s like a cross between an early warning satellite and a KH11 photo recon one”.
Of course, it wasn’t and each report announced yet another “cost variance”. The two satellites were necessary as one was not capable of the full range of observations planned while still fitting inside of the Shuttle cargo bay. A Titan IV would have done the job in one go but there were three problems all political. First it was too expensive for NASA. Second the space station was still on the drawing board NASA needed another justification and use for the Shuttle. Third, Titan IV was developed and used by the military. It wasn’t a NASA asset.
Years behind schedule, one of the satellites was finally dropped. One would be used as the development unit and only the second one would fly. This saved more money to make up for the serious under estimation. This is why some people refer to it as AX-half.
The spacecraft got heavier as the design process went along. Efforts to reduce weight were scaled back to save money. The weight problems continued so NASA figured they would put it into a higher elliptical orbit without the possibility of in-flight repair or upgrades. The accountants decided there was a significant savings here. If it did fail no repair mission would be possible so they wouldn’t have to figure in the costs of one. Of course, they would be left with a useless satellite then, but, that is not an accounting issue, just a science one, and scientists don’t count.