This week in 1999, the space shuttle Columbia, mission STS-93, launched from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center on a four-day mission to deliver the Chandra X-ray Observatory to low-Earth orbit. Chandra was then propelled to an orbit of 44,759 miles in altitude using a two-stage Inertial Upper Stage. This was the first mission in shuttle history to be commanded by a woman, astronaut Eileen Collins. Here, Chandra and its upper stage separate from Columbia with the STS-93 HDTV Camcorder stowed inside the crew cabin. NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center manages the Chandra program for NASA’s Science Mission Directorate. The NASA History Program is responsible for generating, disseminating, and preserving NASA’s remarkable history and providing a comprehensive understanding of the institutional, cultural, social, political, economic, technological and scientific aspects of NASA’s activities in aeronautics and space. For more pictures like this one and to connect to NASA’s history, visit the Marshall History Program’s webpage. (NASA)