Find out the current position of Chandra in relation to the surface of the Earth from NASA/JPL's Eyes on the Solar System applet. Chandra's elliptical orbit takes the spacecraft to an altitude of approximately 139,000 km (86,500 mi) -- more than a third of the distance to the Moon. Try our Satellite Tracking Tutorial to see for yourself just what the Chandra orbit looks like.

Animation of Chandra in Orbit

Operating in space since 1999, Chandra detects and images X-ray sources that lie within our Solar System to those billions of light years away. The results from Chandra help explore high-energy phenomena and provide insights into the Universe's structure and evolution. View the animation of Chandra.

Tracking Chandra

The Space Shuttle Columbia delivered Chandra to a low Earth orbit. Then, the Inertial Upper Stage rocket boosted Chandra up to a higher altitude where a built-in propulsion system took Chandra to its final orbit.

Try our Satellite Tracking Tutorial to see for yourself just what the Chandra orbit looks like.