Space Shuttle Columbia and ended in disaster 73 seconds after launch. In the aftermath NASA's shuttle timetable was disrupted, and "Columbia" was not flown again until 1989 (on STS-28), after which it resumed normal service as part of the shuttle fleet. STS-93, launched on July 23, 1999, was the first U.S. space mission with a female commander, Lt. Col. Eileen Collins. This mission deployed the Chandra X-ray Observatory. "Columbia"'s final successful mission was STS-109, the fourth servicing mission for the Hubble Space Telescope. Its next mission, STS-107, culminated in the orbiter's loss when it disintegrated during reentry, killing all seven of its crew.
Space Surveillance Telescope Space Surveillance Telescope The Space Surveillance Telescope is a telescope for detecting and tracking orbital debris. It has a 3.5 meter (138″) aperture mirror and came online in 2011. Two noted design features include Mersenne-Schmidt type optics and a curved CCD. In 2010s the telescope, which was in New Mexico, United States, was transferred to United States Air Force Space Command and moved to Australia. The discovery and tracking of space debris is noted as a growing problem in the 21st century. One problem is that among the 20-30 thousand large objects in orbit that are tracked, and an estimated