#OTD in 1999, the Space Shuttle Columbia lifted off with the heaviest payload ever sent to orbit on the STS -- the #ChandraXRay Observatory. Soon after, Chandra was deployed from the Cargo Bay and boosted to its final orbit via the final Shuttle-based launch of the Inertial Upper Stage (IUS).
#Chandra25 #NASA #Astronomy #Astrophysics #Astrodon #OTD1999 #XRaysAreTheBestRays