From: baalke@zagami.jpl.nasa.gov   
      
   Donald Savage   
   Headquarters, Washington                August 26, 2003   
   (Phone: 202/358-1727)   
      
   Steve Roy   
   Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville, Ala.   
   (Phone: 256/544-0034)   
      
   CONTRACT RELEASE: c03-z   
      
   NASA AWARDS CHANDRA X-RAY OBSERVATORY FOLLOW-ON CONTRACT   
      
        NASA has awarded a contract to the Smithsonian   
   Astrophysical Observatory in Cambridge, Mass., to provide   
   science and operational support for the Chandra X-ray   
   Observatory, one of the world's most powerful tools to   
   better understand the structure and evolution of the   
   universe.   
      
   The contract will have a period of performance from August   
   31, 2003, through July 31, 2010, with an estimated value of   
   $373 million. It is a follow-on contract to the existing   
   contract with Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory that has   
   provided science and operations support to the Observatory   
   since its launch in July 1999. At launch the intended   
   mission life was five years.   
      
   As a result of Chandra's success, NASA extended the mission   
   from five to 10 years. The value of the original contract   
   was $289 million. The follow-on contract with the   
   Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory will continue through   
   the 10-year mission. The contract type is cost reimbursement   
   with no fee.   
      
   The contract covers mission operations and data analysis,   
   which includes the observatory operations, science data   
   processing and the general and guaranteed time observer   
   (astronomer) support. The observatory operations tasks   
   include monitoring the health and status of the observatory   
   and developing and up linking the observation sequences   
   during Chandra's communication coverage periods.   
      
   The science data processing tasks include the competitive   
   selection, planning, and coordination of science   
   observations with the general observers and processing and   
   delivery of the resulting scientific data. There are   
   approximately 200 to 250 observing proposals selected   
   annually out of about 800 submitted, with a total amount of   
   observing time of about 20 million seconds.   
      
   Chandra has exceeded expectations of scientists, giving them   
   unique insight into phenomena light years away, such as   
   exotic celestial objects, matter falling into black holes,   
   and stellar explosions.   
      
   X-ray astronomy can only be performed from space because   
   Earth's atmosphere blocks X-rays from reaching the surface.   
   The Chandra Observatory travels one-third of the way to the   
   moon during its orbit around the Earth every 64 hours. At   
   its highest point, Chandra's highly elliptical, or egg-   
   shaped, orbit is 200 times higher than that of its visible-   
   light-gathering sister, the Hubble Space Telescope.   
      
   NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville, Ala.,   
   manages the Chandra program for the Office of Space Science,   
   NASA Headquarters, Washington. Northrop Grumman of Redondo   
   Beach, Calif., formerly TRW, Inc., was the prime development   
   contractor for the observatory. The Smithsonian   
   Astrophysical Observatory controls science and flight   
   operations from the Chandra X-ray Center in Cambridge, Mass.   
   For information about NASA on the Internet, visit:   
   http://www.nasa.gov   
   For information about the Chandra X-ray Observatory on the   
   Internet, visit:   
   http://chandra.harvard.edu   
   and   
   http://chandra.nasa.gov   
      
   -end-   
      
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