The High Energy Astronomy Observatory (HEAO)-1, launched on August 12 1977, aboard an Atlas/Centaur launch vehicle. Here, the observatory is shown during final assembly at TRW Systems of Redondo Beach, Calif. The idea for an observatory that could record images of astronomical objects that emit high-energy particles was conceived at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala., which managed the project. HEAO surveyed the sky for additional x-ray and gamma-ray sources as well as pinpointing their positions. HEAO and its two companion observatories, HEAO-2 and HEAO-3, also managed by the Marshall Center, laid the foundation for the Chandra X-ray Observatory, which just celebrated 14 years of space operations last month. The HEAO observatories and Chandra underwent testing at Marshall’s unique X-ray and Cryogenic test facility.
Image credit: NASA/MSFC