Donald Savage
Headquarters, Washington, DC Aug. 23, 1999
(Phone: 202/358-1547)

Dave Drachlis
Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville, AL
(Phone: 256/544-0034)

Wallace Tucker
Chandra X-ray Observatory Center
(Phone: 617/496-7998)

NOTE TO EDITORS: 99-198

FIRST IMAGES FROM CHANDRA X-RAY OBSERVATORY TO BE RELEASED

The first images from the world’s most powerful X-ray telescope, NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory, will be unveiled at a media briefing at 1 p.m. EDT, Thursday, Aug. 26. The briefing will be held in the James E. Webb Auditorium at NASA Headquarters, 300 E St. SW, Washington, DC. The images include the spectacular remnants of a supernova and other astronomical objects.

Panelists will be:

• Dr. Edward Weiler, Associate Administrator for Space Science, NASA Headquarters, Washington, DC;
• Dr. Harvey Tananbaum, Director of the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory’s Chandra X-ray Center, Cambridge, MA;
• Dr. Martin Weisskopf, NASA’s Chandra Project Scientist, NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville, AL; and
• Dr. Robert Kirshner, astrophysicist, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA.

The event will be carried live on NASA Television with question-and-answer capability for reporters covering the briefing from participating NASA centers and from the Chandra Operations Control Center in Cambridge. NASA Television is available on transponder 9C, satellite GE-2 at 85 degrees West longitude, vertical polarization, frequency 3880 MHz, audio of 6.8 MHz.

Chandra has been undergoing activation and checkout since it was placed into orbit during Space Shuttle mission STS-93 in July. Chandra will examine exploding stars, black holes, colliding galaxies and other high-energy cosmic phenomena to help scientists gain a better understanding of the structure and evolution of the universe.

Chandra images and additional information will be available following the briefing on the Internet at:

http://chandra.nasa.gov

and

http://chandra.harvard.edu