Eileen M. Collins Jeffrey S. Ashby Steven A. Hawley Catherine G. Coleman Michel Tognini
Launch:
July 23, 1999
Landing:
July 27, 1999
Duration:
4 days, 22 hours
Comment:
STS-93 deployed the Chandra Advanced X-Ray Astrophysics Facility (AXAF)
This 7-inch wide by 11-inch long by 1.5-inch thick thermal control system blanket protected orbiter systems inside Columbia's payload bay from the extreme temperatures of space. It was one of the approximate 6,000 that shielded the orbiter with multi-layers of Kapton film and Dacron net.
