Jul 23, 2015 – Earth’s Atmosphere – This 70mm frame shows the 50,162-pound Chandra X-ray Observatorybefore it was tilted upward for its release from the Space Shuttle Columbia’s payload bay on July 23, 1999,just a few hours following the shuttle’s arrival in Earth orbit. In August 2015, Chandra will pass the 16th anniversary of another milestone in the mission, the release of the ‘First Light’ images from the telescope. As of July 1st, 2015, Chandra has traveled over 17 billion miles while completing about 2,200 orbits of the Earth. Chandra has made over 14,000 observations over the last 16 years. The targets include objects as close as the Earth and as distant as black holes near the edge of the observable universe. Lapresse Only italyNasa: scoperto pianeta gemello della Terra.