The seven-minute, 44-second firing of the observatory�s Integral Propulsion System raised Chandra�s perigee to an estimated 6,012 miles (9,676kilometers), leaving its apogee, or high point, essentially unchanged at 86,458 miles (139,141 kilometers).

"Initial indications are that all went as planned," said NASA�s Chandra Program Manager Fred Wojtalik, of the Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala. "The flight operations team will carefully review the observatory�s orbital parameters over the next 24 hours to verify that we are where we need to be."

Meanwhile, the Chandra control team continues to activate and check-out the observatory�s instruments. In the last 48 hours, controllers continued calibration of both the High Resolution Camera and the Advanced Charged Coupled Imaging Spectrometer.

A review of data from the August 4 firing of the Chandra X-ray Observatory Integral Propulsion System now indicates the backup engines performed as expected. Analysis confirms Wednesday's initial indications that the engines performed well.

The five-minute burn positioned the telescope in a new perigee of 3515 miles (5,657 kilometers), and apogee of 86,458 miles (139,141 kilometers), with an orbital period of 61 hours and 7.3 minutes.