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Aerial View of Columbia Laun …
Title Aerial View of Columbia Launch
Full Description Aerial view of the STS-2 Columbia launch from Pad 39A at the Kennedy Space Center, Florida, taken by astronaut John Young aboard NASA's Shuttle Training Aircraft (STA).
Date 11/12/1981
NASA Center Johnson Space Center
Apollo 11 Crew in Raft befor …
Title Apollo 11 Crew in Raft before Recovery
Full Description The Apollo 11 crew await pickup by a helicopter from the USS Hornet, prime recovery ship for the historic Apollo 11 lunar landing mission. The fourth man in the life raft is a United States Navy underwater demolition team swimmer. All four men are wearing Biological Isolation Garments (BIG). The Apollo 11 Command Module "Columbia," with astronauts Neil A. Armstrong, Michael Collins, and Edwin E. Aldrin Jr. splashed down at 11:49 a.m. (CDT), July 24, 1969, about 812 nautical miles southwest of Hawaii and only 12 nautical miles from the USS Hornet.
Date 07/24/1969
NASA Center Johnson Space Center
Official STS-107 Crew Photo
Title Official STS-107 Crew Photo
Full Description This is the official crew photo from Mission STS-107 on the Space Shuttle Columbia. From left to right are Mission Specialist David Brown, Commander Rick Husband, Mission Specialist Laurel Clark, Mission Specialist Kalpana Chawla, Mission Specialist Michael Anderson, Pilot William McCool, and Israeli Payload Specialist Ilan Ramon. For more information on STS-107, please see GRIN Columbia General Explanation [ http://grin.hq.nasa.gov/ABSTRACTS/GRINColumbiaGenExpl.html ]
Date 01/01/2002
NASA Center Johnson Space Center
President Bush During STS-10 …
Title President Bush During STS-107 Memorial
Full Description President George W. Bush, before the crowd on the mall of the Johnson Space Center during the memorial for the Columbia astronauts, stated, "Each of these astronauts had the daring and discipline required of their calling. Each of them knew that great endeavors are inseparable from great risks. And each of them accepted those risks willingly, even joyfully, in the cause of discovery." For more information on STS-107, please see GRIN Columbia General Explanation [ http://grin.hq.nasa.gov/ABSTRACTS/GRINColumbiaGenExpl.html ]
Date 02/04/2003
NASA Center Johnson Space Center
President Nixon visits Apoll …
Title President Nixon visits Apollo 11 crew in quarantine
Full Description President Richard M. Nixon was in the central Pacific recovery area to welcome the Apollo 11 astronauts aboard the U.S.S. Hornet, prime recovery ship for the historic Apollo 11 lunar landing mission. Already confined to the Mobile Quarantine Facility (MQF) are (left to right) Neil A. Armstrong, commander, Michael Collins, command module pilot, and Edwin E. Aldrin Jr., lunar module pilot. Apollo 11 splashed down at 11:49 a.m. (CDT), July 24, 1969, about 812 nautical miles southwest of Hawaii and only 12 nautical miles from the U.S.S. Hornet. The three crew men will remain in the MQF until they arrive at the Manned Spacecraft Center's (MSC) Lunar Receiving Laboratory (LRL). While astronauts Armstrong and Aldrin descended in the Lunar Module (LM) "Eagle" to explore the Sea of Tranquility region of the Moon, astronaut Collins remained with the Command and Service Modules (CSM) "Columbia" in lunar-orbit.
Date 7/24/1969
NASA Center Johnson Space Center
Columbia Commander Eileen Co …
Title Columbia Commander Eileen Collins
Full Description Commander Eileen Collins consults a checklist while seated at the flight deck Commander's station in the Shuttle Columbia during STS-93.
Date 07/24/1999
NASA Center Johnson Space Center
Columbia Commander John Youn …
Title Columbia Commander John Young
Full Description John W. Young, STS-1 mission Commander, prepares to log flight-pertinent data in a loose-leaf flight activities notebook onboard the Space Shuttle Columbia. Young is seated in the commander's station on the port side of Columbia's forward flight deck.
Date 04/14/1981
NASA Center Johnson Space Center
Columbia On Final Approach
Title Columbia On Final Approach
Full Description The underside of Columbia as it makes its final approach before landing on the Rogers Dry Lakebed at Edwards Air Force Base, California. The Shuttle was piloted by Richard Truly who would go on to become NASA's eighth Administrator.
Date 11/16/1981
NASA Center Johnson Space Center
Columbia's Main Engine Power …
Title Columbia's Main Engine Powerheads
Full Description One of the Space Shuttle Columbia's Main Engine powerheads found on the grounds of Fort Polk, Louisiana. The 800-pound unit was one of the easternmost-recovered pieces of debris from Columbia. For more information on STS-107, please see GRIN Columbia General Explanation [ http://grin.hq.nasa.gov/ABSTRACTS/GRINColumbiaGenExpl.html ]
Date 04/03/2003
NASA Center Johnson Space Center
Robot Camera Retrieval
Title Robot Camera Retrieval
Full Description Looking like he's playing with a high tech "soccerball" STS-87 Mission Specialists Winston Scott reaches out and retrieves the free-flying AERCam/Sprint (Autonomous EVA Robotic Camera).
Date 12/03/1997
NASA Center Johnson Space Center
Ron Dittemore and Michael Ko …
Title Ron Dittemore and Michael Kostelnik
Full Description Ronald D. Dittemore (right), a 26-year NASA veteran, announces his intention to step aside as the Space Shuttle Program Manager at the Johnson Space Center in Houston to pursue other opportunities. Also pictured at the Washington, DC announcement is Michael Kostelnik, Deputy Associate Administrator for the Space Shuttle and International Space Station Programs. Dittemore, who has served as the Shuttle Program Manager for more than four years, will remain in his current position until the Columbia Accident Investigation Board finishes its investigation and a complete "Return to Flight" path has been established. Dittemore retired recently, he had publicly planned to do so before the accident. For more information on STS-107, please see GRIN Columbia General Explanation [ http://grin.hq.nasa.gov/ABSTRACTS/GRINColumbiaGenExpl.html ]
Date 04/23/2003
NASA Center Johnson Space Center
Sally Ride, First U.S. Woman …
Title Sally Ride, First U.S. Woman in Space
Full Description Sally Ride was the first American woman in space. Born on May 26, 1951 in Los Angeles, California, she received a Bachelor in Physics and English in 1973 from Stanford University and, later, a Master in Physics in 1975 and a Doctorate in Physics in 1978, also from Stanford. NASA selected Dr. Ride as an astronaut candidate in January 1978. She completed her training in August 1979, and began her astronaut career as a mission specialist on STS-7, which launched from Kennedy Space Center, Florida on June 18, 1983. The mission spent 147 hours in space before landing on a lakebed runway at Edwards Air Force Base, California on June 24, 1983. Dr. Ride also served as a mission specialist on STS-41-G, which launched from Kennedy Space Center, Florida on October 5, 1984 and landed 197 hours later at Kennedy Space Center, Florida on October 13, 1984. In June 1985, NASA assigned Dr. Ride to serve as mission specialist on STS-61-M. She discontinued mission training in January 1986 to serve as a member of the Presidential Commission on the Space Shuttle Challenger accident, also known as the Rogers Commission. Upon completing the investigation she returned to NASA Headquarters as Special Assistant to the Administrator for Long Range and Strategic Planning, where she lead a team that wrote NASA Leadership and America's Future in Space:A Report to the Administrator in August 1987. Dr. Ride has also written a children's book, To Space and Back, describing her experiences in space, has received the Jefferson Award for Public Service, and has twice been awarded the National Spaceflight Medal. Her latest books include Voyager: An Adventure to the Edge of the Solar System and The Third Planet: Exploring the Earth from Space. She was also a member of the Columbia Accident Investigation Board (CAIB), which investigated the February 1, 2003 loss of Space Shuttle Columbia. Dr. Ride is currently a physics professor and Director of the California Space Institute at the University of California, San Diego.
Date 06/1984
NASA Center Johnson Space Center
Doi in Aft Payload Bay Windo …
Title Doi in Aft Payload Bay Window
Full Description Mission Specialist Takao Doi conducts the second Extravehicular Activity (EVA) on mission STS-87. He waves at crew members inside Columbia from the aft Payload Bay windows.
Date 12/03/1997
NASA Center Johnson Space Center
Sean O'Keefe at JSC
Title Sean O'Keefe at JSC
Full Description NASA Administrator Sean O'Keefe addresses the Johnson Space Center employees with encouraging words in the Teague auditorium following the loss of the Space Shuttle Columbia crew on February 1, 2003. For more information on STS-107, please see GRIN Columbia General Explanation [ http://grin.hq.nasa.gov/ABSTRACTS/GRINColumbiaGenExpl.html ]
Date 02/07/2003
NASA Center Johnson Space Center
Eagle" In Lunar Orbit
Title Eagle" In Lunar Orbit
Full Description The Apollo 11 Lunar Module (LM) "Eagle", in a landing configuration is photographed in lunar orbit from the Command and Service Modules (CSM) "Columbia". Inside the LM were Commander, Neil A. Armstrong, and Lunar Module Pilot Edwin E. "Buzz" Aldrin Jr. The long "rod-like" protrusions under the landing pods are lunar surface sensing probes. Upon contact with the lunar surface, the probes send a signal to the crew to shut down the descent engine.
Date 07/20/1969
NASA Center Johnson Space Center
STS-107 Astronauts Rick Husb …
Title STS-107 Astronauts Rick Husband and Willie McCool
Full Description Astronauts Rick D. Husband (left) and William C. McCool, STS-107 mission Commander and Pilot, respectively, give a "thumbs-up" as they await a training session in one of the trainer/mockups (out of frame) in the Space Vehicle Mockup Facility at the Johnson Space Center. Husband and McCool are wearing training versions of the full-pressure launch and entry suit. For more information on STS-107, please see GRIN Columbia General Explanation [ http://grin.hq.nasa.gov/ABSTRACTS/GRINColumbiaGenExpl.html ]
Date 09/18/2001
NASA Center Johnson Space Center
First Class of Female Astron …
Title First Class of Female Astronauts
Full Description From left to right are Shannon W. Lucid, Margaret Rhea Seddon, Kathryn D. Sullivan, Judith A. Resnik, Anna L. Fisher, and Sally K. Ride. NASA selected all six women as their first female astronaut candidates in January 1978, allowing them to enroll in a training program that they completed in August 1979. Shannon W. Lucid was born on January 14, 1943 in Shanghai, China but considers Bethany, Oklahoma to be her hometown. She spent many years at the University of Oklahoma, receiving a Bachelor in chemistry in 1963, a Master in biochemistry in 1970, and a Doctorate in biochemistry in 1973. Dr. Lucid flew on the STS-51G Discovery, STS-34 Atlantis, STS-43 Atlantis, and STS-58 Columbia shuttle missions, setting the record for female astronauts by logging 838 hours and 54 minutes in space. She also currently holds the United States single mission space flight endurance record for her 188 days on the Russian Space Station Mir. From February 2002 to September 2003, she served as chief scientist at NASA Headquarters before returning to JSC to help with the Return to Flight program after the STS-107 accident. Born November 8, 1947, in Murfreesboro, Tennessee, Margaret Rhea Seddon received a Doctorate of Medicine in 1973 from the University of Tennessee. She flew on space missions STS-51 Discovery, STS-40 Columbia, and STS-58 Columbia for a total of over 722 hours in space. Dr. Seddon retired from NASA in November 1997, taking on a position as the Assistant Chief Medical Officer of the Vanderbilt Medical Group in Nashville, Tennessee. Kathryn Sullivan was born October 3, 1951 in Patterson, New Jersey but considers Woodland Hills, California to be her hometown. She received a Bachelor in Earth Sciences from the University of California, Santa Cruz in 1973 and a Doctorate in Geology from Dalhousie University in Halifax, Nova Scotia in 1978. She flew on space missions STS-41G, STS-31, and STS-45 and logged a total of 532 hours in space. Dr. Sullivan left NASA in August 1992 to assume the position of Chief Scientist of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). She later went on to serve as President and CEO of the Center of Science and Industry in Columbus, Ohio. Dr. Judith Resnik was born April 5, 1949 in Akron, Ohio. She received a Bachelor of Science degree in Electrical Engineering from Carnegie-Mellon University in 1970, and a Doctorate in Electrical Engineering from University of Maryland in 1977. Dr. Resnik left a job as a senior systems engineer in product development with Xerox Corporation at El Segundo, California to work for NASA in 1978. She died on January 28, 1986 on her second mission, during the launch of Challenger STS-51-L. Anna Fisher was born August 24, 1949 in New York City, New York hometown. She received a Doctorate in Medicine in 1976 and a Master of Science in Chemistry in 1987, both from the University of California, Los Angeles. Dr. Fisher flew on STS-51A, the Space Shuttle Discovery's November 8, 1984, mission, and logged 192 hours in space, her second schedule mission was cancelled after the Space Shuttle Challenger STS-51L accident. She remains with NASA, where she has filled many positions over decades of service. Dr. Sally Ride was the first American woman in space. Born on May 26, 1951 in Los Angeles, California, she went on to receive a Bachelor in Physics and English in 1973 from Stanford University and, later, a Master in Physics in 1975 and a Doctorate in Physics in 1978, also from Stanford. She began her astronaut career as a mission specialist on STS-7, which launched from Kennedy Space Center, Florida on June 18, 1983, and later went on to fly on STS-41G. She withdrew from training for her third scheduled mission in order to serve on the investigative committee for the Space Shuttle Challenger accident and never returned to training, although she went on to work for headquarters and later to serve on the Columbia Accident Investigation Board before returning to the private sector as a physics professor.
Date 02/28/1979
NASA Center Johnson Space Center
STS-107 Crew in front of T-3 …
Title STS-107 Crew in front of T-38
Full Description The STS-107 crewmembers pose for an informal crew portrait near a T-38 trainer jet at Ellington Field near Johnson Space Center. From the left are astronauts Rick D. Husband, mission Commander, William C. McCool, pilot, David M. Brown, Laurel B. Clark, both mission Specialists, payload specialist Ilan Ramon, Michael P. Anderson and Kalpana Chawla, both mission specialists. For more information on STS-107, please see GRIN Columbia General Explanation [ http://grin.hq.nasa.gov/ABSTRACTS/GRINColumbiaGenExpl.html ]
Date 07/25/2002
NASA Center Johnson Space Center
STS-107 Debris at Barksdale …
Title STS-107 Debris at Barksdale AFB Hangar
Full Description View of the debris from the Space Shuttle Columbia in the hangar at Barksdale Air Force Base in Shreveport, Louisiana. The debris was collected and cataloged prior to shipment to the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. For more information on STS-107, please see GRIN Columbia General Explanation [ http://grin.hq.nasa.gov/ABSTRACTS/GRINColumbiaGenExpl.html ]
Date 02/08/2003
NASA Center Johnson Space Center
STS-107 Makeshift Memorial a …
Title STS-107 Makeshift Memorial at JSC
Full Description In memory of the Space Shuttle Columbia crewmembers who lost their lives on February 1, 2003, a massive collection of flowers, balloons, flags, signs, and other arrangements were placed at the Johnson Space Center sign at the Center's main entrance. For more information on STS-107, please see GRIN Columbia General Explanation [ http://grin.hq.nasa.gov/ABSTRACTS/GRINColumbiaGenExpl.html ]
Date 02/01/2003
NASA Center Johnson Space Center
STS-107 Memorial Service at …
Title STS-107 Memorial Service at the National Cathedral
Full Description View of the Recessional at a special memorial ceremony honoring the Space Shuttle Columbia crew at the Washington National Cathedral. For more information on STS-107, please see GRIN Columbia General Explanation [ http://grin.hq.nasa.gov/ABSTRACTS/GRINColumbiaGenExpl.html ]
Date 02/06/2003
NASA Center Johnson Space Center
The Apollo 11 Prime Crew
Title The Apollo 11 Prime Crew
Full Description Portrait of the prime crew of the Apollo 11 lunar landing mission. From left to right they are: Commander, Neil A. Armstrong, Command Module Pilot, Michael Collins, and Lunar Module Pilot, Edwin E. Aldrin Jr. On July 20th 1969 at 4:18 PM, EDT the Lunar Module "Eagle" landed in a region of the Moon called the Mare Tranquillitatis, also known as the Sea of Tranquillity. After securing his spacecraft, Armstrong radioed back to earth: "Houston, Tranquility Base here, the Eagle has landed". At 10:56 p.m. that same evening and witnessed by a worldwide television audience, Neil Armstrong stepped off the "Eagle's landing pad onto the lunar surface and said: "That's one small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind." He became the first human to set foot upon the Moon.
Date 05/01/1969
NASA Center Johnson Space Center
The STS-1 Crew
Title The STS-1 Crew
Full Description The STS-1 crew members are: Commander, John W. Young and Pilot Robert L. Crippen.
Date 05/07/1979
NASA Center Johnson Space Center
Throttling Upward
Title Throttling Upward
Full Description Aerial views of the STS-2 launch from Pad 39A at Kennedy Space Center. This photograph of Columbia soaring toward earth orbit was captured by Mission- Specialist/Astronaut Kathryn D. Sullivan from the rear station of a T-38 jet aircraft. Part of the wing top of her aircraft can be seen in the lower left corner. Another T-38 jet can be seen at lower left corner near the smoke trails from the Shuttle.
Date 11/12/1981
NASA Center Johnson Space Center
Winston Scott during EVA
Title Winston Scott during EVA
Full Description Mission Specialist Winston Scott as seen from inside orbiter Columbia conducts the second Extravehicular Activity (EVA) on mission STS-87.
Date 12/03/1997
NASA Center Johnson Space Center
C. Gordon Fullerton
Photo Date 1989
The Space Shuttle Columbia g …
Photo Date April 14, 1981
Photo Description After completing it's first orbital mission with a landing at Edwards Air Force Base on April 14, 1981, Space Shuttle Columbia received a humorous sendoff before it's ferry flight atop a modified 747 back to the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Holding the sign are, left to right: Melvin Burke, DFRC Orbital Flight Test (OFT) Program Manager, Isaac 'Ike' Gillam, DFRC Center Director, Fitzhugh 'Fitz' L. Fulton Jr., NASA DFRC 747 SCA Pilot, and Donald K. 'Deke' Slayton, JSC OFT Project Manager.
Photo Date April 28, 1981
The Space Shuttle Columbia t …
Photo Description TOUCHDOWN! -- The Space Shuttle Columbia touches down on lakebed runway 23 at Edwards Air Force Base, Calif., to conclude the first orbital shuttle mission, April 14, 1981.
Photo Date April 14, 1981
Space Shuttle astronauts Joh …
Photo Description WELCOME HOME -- Space Shuttle astronauts John Young and Robert Crippen (in tan space suits) are greeted by members of the ground crew moments after stepping off the shuttle Columbia following its first landing at Edwards Air Force Base, Calif. Young and Crippen had piloted the Columbia on its first orbital space mission, April 12 - 14, 1981.
Project Description Space Shuttle astronauts John Young and Robert Crippen (in tan space suits) are greeted by members of the ground crew after stepping off the Space Shuttle Columbia after STS-1 landing at Edwards Air Force Base, CA.
Photo Date April 14, 1981
Photo Description The Space Shuttle Columbia touches down on lakebed runway 23 at Edwards Air Force Base, Calif., to conclude the first orbital shuttle mission. (JSC photo # S81-30734)
Project Description Space Shuttle STS-1
Photo Date April 14, 1981
Photo Description The Space Shuttle Columbia on Rogers Dry lakebed at Edwards AFB after landing to complete its first orbital mission on April 14, 1981. Technicians towed the Shuttle back to the NASA Dryden Flight Research Center for post-flight processing and preparation for a return ferry flight atop a modified 747 to Kennedy Space Center in Florida. (JSC photo # S81-30749)
Project Description Space Shuttle STS-1
Photo Date April 14, 1981
The Space Shuttle Columbia o …
Photo Description The Space Shuttle Columbia on Rogers Dry lakebed at Edwards AFB after landing to complete its first orbital mission on April 14, 1981. Technicians towed the Shuttle back to the NASA Dryden Flight Research Center for post-flight processing and preparation for a return ferry flight atop a modified 747 to Kennedy Space Center in Florida. (JSC photo # S81-31163)
Photo Date April 14, 1981
Kalpana Chawla Trains for ST …
Name of Image Kalpana Chawla Trains for STS-87 Mission
Date of Image 1995-09-09
Full Description Astronaut and mission specialist Kalpana Chawla, receives assistance in donning a training version of the Extravehicular Mobility Unit (EMU) space suit, prior to an underwater training session in the Neutral Buoyancy Laboratory (NBL) near Johnson Space Center. This particular training was in preparation for the STS-87 mission. The Space Shuttle Columbia (STS-87) was the fourth flight of the United States Microgravity Payload (USMP-4) and Spartan-201 satellite, both managed by scientists and engineers from the Marshall Space Flight Center.
Kalpana Chawla Trains for ST …
Name of Image Kalpana Chawla Trains for STS-87 Mission
Date of Image 1995-09-09
Full Description Attired in a training version of the Extravehicular Mobility Unit (EMU) space suit, astronaut and mission specialist Kalpana Chawla, prepares to go underwater in the Neutral Buoyancy Laboratory (NBL) near Johnson Space Center. This particular training was in preparation for the STS-87 mission. The Space Shuttle Columbia (STS-87) was the fourth flight of the United States Microgravity Payload (USMP-4) and Spartan-201 satellite, both managed by scientists and engineers from the Marshall Space Flight Center.
Astronauts Prepare for Missi …
Name of Image Astronauts Prepare for Mission With Virtual Reality Hardware
Date of Image 2001-08-08
Full Description Astronauts John M. Grunsfeld (left), STS-109 payload commander, and Nancy J. Currie, mission specialist, use the virtual reality lab at Johnson Space Center to train for upcoming duties aboard the Space Shuttle Columbia. This type of computer interface paired with virtual reality training hardware and software helps to prepare the entire team to perform its duties for the fourth Hubble Space Telescope Servicing mission. The most familiar form of virtual reality technology is some form of headpiece, which fits over your eyes and displays a three dimensional computerized image of another place. Turn your head left and right, and you see what would be to your sides, turn around, and you see what might be sneaking up on you. An important part of the technology is some type of data glove that you use to propel yourself through the virtual world. Currently, the medical community is using the new technologies in four major ways: To see parts of the body more accurately, for study, to make better diagnosis of disease and to plan surgery in more detail, to obtain a more accurate picture of a procedure during surgery, to perform more types of surgery with the most noninvasive, accurate methods possible, and to model interactions among molecules at a molecular level.
STS-87 Crew Portrait
Name of Image STS-87 Crew Portrait
Date of Image 1997-09-01
Full Description Five astronauts and a payload specialist take a break from training at the Johnson Space Center (JSC) to pose for the STS-87 crew portrait. Wearing the orange partial pressure launch and entry suits, from the left, are Kalpana Chawla, mission specialist, Steven W. Lindsey, pilot, Kevin R. Kregel, mission commander, and Leonid K. Kadenyuk, Ukrainian payload specialist. Wearing the white Extravehicular Mobility Unit (EMU) space suits are mission specialists Winston E. Scott (left) and Takao Doi (right). Doi represents Japan?s National Space Development Agency (NASDA). The STS-87 mission launched aboard the Space Shuttle Columbia on November 19, 1997. The primary payload for the mission was the U.S. Microgravity Payload-4 (USMP-4).
Chandra X-Ray Observatory (C …
Name of Image Chandra X-Ray Observatory (CXO) at Johnson Space Center
Date of Image 1999-01-24
Full Description This Quick Time movie depicts the Chandra X-Ray Observatory (CXO), formerly Advanced X-Ray Astrophysics Facility (AXAF), in its entirety, at the orbital processing facility at the Johnson Space Center. In 1999, the AXAF was renamed the CXO in honor of the late Indian-American Novel Laureate Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar. The CXO is the most sophisticated and the world?s most powerful x-ray telescope ever built. It is designed to observe x-rays from high energy regions of the Universe, such as hot gas in the remnants of exploded stars. It produces picture-like images of x-ray emissions analogous to those made in visible light, as well as gathers data on the chemical composition of x-ray radiating objects. The CXO helps astronomers worldwide better understand the structure and evolution of the universe by studying powerful sources of x-rays such as exploding stars, matter falling into black holes, and other exotic celestial objects. TRW, Inc. was the prime contractor for the development of the CXO and NASA?s Marshall Space Flight Center was responsible for its project management. The Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory controls science and flight operations of the CXO for NASA from Cambridge, Massachusetts. The Observatory was launched July 22, 1999 aboard the Space Shuttle Columbia, STS-93 mission.
Fires in British Columbia
Title Fires in British Columbia
Description The 2003 fire season was another very active one for western North America, especially in the Canadian province of British Columbia where some 620,000 acres of forest were consumed in almost 2,500 fires. Here the Rocky Mountains have both lofty, snow-capped peaks and long, narrow valleys that create special conditions and problems with air quality from these smoky fires. This image taken by the crew of the International Space Station on August 20, 2003, illustrates how smoke has become trapped in valleys. Normally air temperature decreases with altitude, in other words, the higher up you are, the colder it is. Warmer, more buoyant air near the surface of the Earth usually rises into the atmosphere, carrying away air pollutants such as smoke. However, sometimes the "higher equals colder" relationship breaks down, for example, here in the northern Rockies, where light winds and cold air drainage from the higher elevations have created "temperature inversions," making the air in the valley colder and denser than the air at the mountain peaks. The cold dense air does not rise, but intsead stays trapped—along with the smoke—in the valleys. Note how the snowy peaks of the mountains are relatively smoke-free while the long, north-south valleys of Kootenay Lake and Columbia River are filled with trapped aerosols from the plumes of the large fires situated to the southwest. Meanwhile shifting winds have now swept the bulk of the plumes southeastward over the Columbia River Basin of Washington. Astronaut photograph ISS007-E-13281 was taken August 20, 2003 with a Kodak DCS760 digital camera equipped with an 50mm lens and provided by Michael Trenchard (Lockheed Martin / Earth Observations Laboratory, Johnson Space Center). The International Space Station Program supports the laboratory to help astronauts take pictures of Earth that will be of the greatest value to scientists and the public, and to make those images freely available on the Internet. Additional images taken by astronauts and cosmonauts can be viewed at the NASA/JSC Gateway to Astronaut Photography of Earth Website.
Fires in British Columbia
Title Fires in British Columbia
Description The 2003 fire season was another very active one for western North America, especially in the Canadian province of British Columbia where some 620,000 acres of forest were consumed in almost 2,500 fires. Here the Rocky Mountains have both lofty, snow-capped peaks and long, narrow valleys that create special conditions and problems with air quality from these smoky fires. This image taken by the crew of the International Space Station on August 20, 2003, illustrates how smoke has become trapped in valleys. Normally air temperature decreases with altitude, in other words, the higher up you are, the colder it is. Warmer, more buoyant air near the surface of the Earth usually rises into the atmosphere, carrying away air pollutants such as smoke. However, sometimes the "higher equals colder" relationship breaks down, for example, here in the northern Rockies, where light winds and cold air drainage from the higher elevations have created "temperature inversions," making the air in the valley colder and denser than the air at the mountain peaks. The cold dense air does not rise, but intsead stays trapped—along with the smoke—in the valleys. Note how the snowy peaks of the mountains are relatively smoke-free while the long, north-south valleys of Kootenay Lake and Columbia River are filled with trapped aerosols from the plumes of the large fires situated to the southwest. Meanwhile shifting winds have now swept the bulk of the plumes southeastward over the Columbia River Basin of Washington. Astronaut photograph ISS007-E-13281 was taken August 20, 2003 with a Kodak DCS760 digital camera equipped with an 50mm lens and provided by Michael Trenchard (Lockheed Martin / Earth Observations Laboratory, Johnson Space Center). The International Space Station Program supports the laboratory to help astronauts take pictures of Earth that will be of the greatest value to scientists and the public, and to make those images freely available on the Internet. Additional images taken by astronauts and cosmonauts can be viewed at the NASA/JSC Gateway to Astronaut Photography of Earth Website.
Impact: 65 Million Years Ago
Title Impact: 65 Million Years Ago
Explanation What killed the dinosaurs? [ http://www.wf.carleton.ca/Museum/extinction/homepg.html ] Their sudden disappearance 65 million years ago, along with about 70 percent of all species then living on Earth, is known as the K-T event [ ftp://ftp.hq.nasa.gov/pub/pao/pressrel/1998/98-042.txt ] (Cretaceous-Tertiary Mass Extinction event). Geologists and paleontologists often entertain the idea that a large asteroid or comet impacting [ http://rainbow.ldeo.columbia.edu/courses/v1001/23.html ] the Earth was the culprit. In such a cosmic catastrophe, the good(!) news would be that the impact [ http://www.agu.org/revgeophys/claeys00/claeys00.html ] would generate firestorms, tidal waves, earthquakes, and hurricane winds. As for the bad news [ http://www.techreview.com/articles/feb95/tyson.html ] ... debris thrown into the atmosphere would have a serious global environmental consequences, creating extended periods of darkness, low temperatures, and acid rains - resulting in a planet-wide extinction event. In 1990, dramatic support for this theory [ http://juliet.stfx.ca/ academic/geology/courses/170/whatsnew/biosph/dino2.html ] came from cosmochemist Alan Hildebrand's revelation of a 65 million year old, 112 mile wide ring structure still detectable [ http://southport.jpl.nasa.gov:80/pio/srl1/sirc/srl1-yucatan.html ] under layers of sediment in the Yucatan Peninsula region of Mexico. The outlines of the structure, called the Chicxulub crater [ http://ucaswww.mcm.uc.edu/geology/huff/Chicxulub.html ] (named for a local village), are visible in the above representation of gravity and magnetic field data from the region. In addition to having the right age, the crater is consistent with the impact of [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap970323.html ] an asteroid of sufficient size (6 to 12 miles wide) to cause the global disruptions. Regardless of the true cause of the K-T event, it is fortunate that such impacts [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap990610.html ] are presently [ http://cfa-www.harvard.edu/iau/lists/CloseApp.html ] believed to happen [ http://impact.arc.nasa.gov/index.html ] only about once every 100 million years!
Manicouagan Impact Crater on …
Title Manicouagan Impact Crater on Earth
Explanation The Manicouagan Crater [ http://www.linkdirectory.com/airphoto/1030.html ] in northern Canada [ http://www.odci.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/ca.html ] is one of the oldest impact craters [ http://observe.ivv.nasa.gov/nasa/exhibits/craters/impact_home.html ] known. Formed during a surely tremendous impact [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap990711.html ] about 200 million years ago, the present day terrain supports a 70-kilometer diameter hydroelectric reservoir [ http://www.ilec.or.jp/database/nam/nam-26.html ] in the telltale form of an annular lake [ http://epod.usra.edu/archive/epodviewer.php3?oid=40640 ]. The crater itself has been worn away by the passing of glaciers [ http://www.glacier.rice.edu/land/5_whatisaglacier.html ] and other erosional processes. Still, the hard rock [ http://duke.usask.ca/~reeves/prog/geoe118/geoe118.011.html ] at the impact site has preserved much of the complex impact structure [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap960120.html ] and so allows scientists a leading case to help understand large impact features on Earth [ http://www.lpi.usra.edu/publications/slidesets/impacts.html ] and other [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap001213.html ap960906.html ] Solar System bodies. Also visible above [ http://earth.jsc.nasa.gov/lores.cgi?PHOTO=STS009-48-3139 ] is the vertical fin of the Space Shuttle [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap990411.html ] Columbia from which the picture was taken in 1983.
Astro 1 In Orbit
Title Astro 1 In Orbit
Explanation In December of 1990, the Space Shuttle Columbia [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap950808.html ] carried an array of astronomical telescopes [ http://images.jsc.nasa.gov/images/pao/STS35/10063952.htm ] high above the Earth's obscuring atmosphere to observe the Universe at ultraviolet and x-ray wavelengths. The telescopes, known by the acronyms UIT [ http://fondue.gsfc.nasa.gov/UIT/UIT_HomePage.html ], HUT [ http://praxis.pha.jhu.edu/hut.html ], WUPPE [ http://www.sal.wisc.edu/WUPPE/ ], and BBXRT [ http://heasarc.gsfc.nasa.gov/docs/bbxrt/bbxrt_menu.html ], are seen here in Columbia's [ http://www.ksc.nasa.gov/shuttle/resources/orbiters/columbia.html ] payload bay against a spectacular view of the constellation Orion. The ultraviolet telescopes [ http://praxis.pha.jhu.edu/instruments/instruments.html ] were mounted on a common structure - HUT is visible in this view along with a star tracker (the silver cone at the left). The mission studied solar system, galactic, and extra-galactic sources [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap960409.html ].
Aristarchus' Unbelievable Di …
Title Aristarchus' Unbelievable Discoveries
Explanation Here lived one of the greatest thinkers in human history. Aristarchus [ http://www-groups.dcs.st-and.ac.uk/~history/Mathematicians/Aristarchus.html ] lived on the Greek island of Samos, a small island in the center of the above picture [ http://images.jsc.nasa.gov/images/pao/STS58/10083809.htm ] that can be identified with a good map [ http://www.cruiseair.com/bigmap.gif ]. Aristarchus, who lived from 310 BC to 230 BC, postulated that the planets orbited the Sun [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap960521.html ] - not the Earth [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap950830.html ] -- over a thousand years before Copernicus [ http://www-groups.dcs.st-and.ac.uk/~history/Mathematicians/Copernicus.html ] and Galileo [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap960830.html ] made similar arguments. Aristarchus used clear logic to estimate the size of the Earth, the size and distance to our Moon [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/lib/moon.html ], the size and distance to our Sun, the the even deduced that the points of light we see at night are not dots painted on some celestial sphere but stars like our Sun at enormous distances. Aristarchus' discoveries [ http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/GreekScience/Students/Kristen/Aristarchus.html ] remained truly unbelievable to the people of his time but stand today as pillars of deductive reasoning.
Astro 1 In Orbit
Title Astro 1 In Orbit
Explanation In December of 1990, the Space Shuttle Columbia [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap950808.html ] carried an array of astronomical telescopes [ http://images.jsc.nasa.gov/images/pao/STS35/10063952.htm ] high above the Earth's obscuring atmosphere to observe the Universe at ultraviolet and x-ray wavelengths. The telescopes, known by the acronyms UIT [ http://fondue.gsfc.nasa.gov/UIT/UIT_HomePage.html ], HUT [ http://praxis.pha.jhu.edu/hut.html ], WUPPE [ http://www.sal.wisc.edu/WUPPE/ ], and BBXRT [ http://heasarc.gsfc.nasa.gov/docs/bbxrt/bbxrt_menu.html ], are seen here in Columbia's [ http://www.ksc.nasa.gov/shuttle/resources/orbiters/columbia.html ] payload bay against a spectacular view of the constellation Orion [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap961202.html ]. The ultraviolet telescopes [ http://praxis.pha.jhu.edu/instruments/instruments.html ] were mounted on a common structure - HUT is visible in this view along with a star tracker (the silver cone at the left). The mission studied solar system, galactic, and extra-galactic sources [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap960409.html ].
Impact! 65 Million Years Ago
Title Impact! 65 Million Years Ago
Explanation What killed the dinosaurs? [ http://www.wf.carleton.ca/Museum/extinction/homepg.html ] Their sudden disappearance 65 million years ago, along with about 70 percent of all species then living on Earth, is known as the K-T event [ http://bang.lanl.gov/solarsys/comet/appendb.htm ] (Cretaceous-Tertiary Mass Extinction event). Geologists and paleontologists often entertain the idea of a large asteroid or comet impacting [ http://rainbow.ldeo.columbia.edu/courses/v1001/23.html ] the Earth as the culprit. Besides the firestorms, tidal waves, earthquakes, and hurricane winds such an impact [ http://web.mit.edu/afs/athena/org/t/ techreview/www/articles/feb95/tyson.html ] would generate, the debris thrown into the atmosphere would have a serious global environmental impact -- creating extended periods of darkness, low temperatures, and acid rains. In 1990, dramatic support for this theory [ http://juliet.stfx.ca/ academic/geology/courses/170/whatsnew/biosph/dino2.html ] came from cosmochemist Alan Hildebrand's revelation of a 65 million year old, 112 mile wide ring structure still detectable under layers of sediment in the Yucatan Peninsula region of Mexico. The outlines of the structure, called the Chicxulub crater [ http://bang.lanl.gov/solarsys/tercrate.htm#chic ] (named for a local village), are visible in the above representation of gravity and magnetic field data from the region [ http://www.agu.org/sharpton.html ]. In addition to having the right age, the crater is consistent with the impact [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap970323.html ] of an asteroid of sufficient size (6 to 12 miles wide) to cause the global disruptions. Regardless of the true cause of the K-T event, it is fortunate that such impacts are presently believed to happen only about once every 100 million years! [ http://ccf.arc.nasa.gov/sst/main.html ]
Sprint the Flying Space Came …
Title Sprint the Flying Space Camera
Explanation Yes, but can your soccer ball do this? The ball near the middle of the above photograph [ http://shuttle.nasa.gov/sts-87/images/esc/Flightday13/ ] is actually a robotic camera designed to float about a Space Shuttle [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap950806.html ] and the International Space Station [ http://station.nasa.gov/ ] and take pictures. Named "Sprint", it is NASA's first Autonomous Extravehicular Activity Robotic Camera (AERCam) [ http://tommy.jsc.nasa.gov/~hnguyen/sprint_html/sprint_src.html ] and was tested earlier this month by the crew [ http://shuttle.nasa.gov/sts-87/crew/ ] of Space Shuttle Columbia. Sprint's diameter is actually about 50 percent larger than a soccer ball, and astronauts [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap971210.html http://www.jsc.nasa.gov/Bios/astrobio.html ] make a goal of "not" kicking it.
Astro 1 In Orbit
Title Astro 1 In Orbit
Explanation In December of 1990, the Space Shuttle Columbia [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap961110.html ] carried an array of astronomical telescopes [ http://images.jsc.nasa.gov/images/pao/STS35/10063952.htm ] high above the Earth's obscuring atmosphere to observe the Universe [ http://trifle.gsfc.nasa.gov/UIT/Astro1/Astro1_pictures.html ] at ultraviolet and x-ray wavelengths. The telescopes, known by the acronyms UIT [ http://trifle.gsfc.nasa.gov/UIT/UIT_HomePage.html ], HUT [ http://praxis.pha.jhu.edu/hut.html ], WUPPE [ http://www.sal.wisc.edu/WUPPE/ ], and BBXRT [ http://heasarc.gsfc.nasa.gov/docs/bbxrt/bbxrt_menu.html ], are seen here in Columbia's [ http://www.ksc.nasa.gov/shuttle/resources/orbiters/columbia.html ] payload bay against a spectacular view of the constellation Orion [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap961202.html ]. The ultraviolet telescopes [ http://praxis.pha.jhu.edu/instruments/instruments.html ] were mounted on a common structure - HUT is visible in this view along with a star tracker (the silver cone at the left). The mission studied solar system, galactic, and extra-galactic sources [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap980314.html ].
Liftoff of Space Shuttle Col …
Title Liftoff of Space Shuttle Columbia
Explanation On April 12, 1981, space flight entered a new era with the first launch [ http://spacelink.nasa.gov/NASA.Projects/Human.Exploration.and.Development.of.Space/Human.Space.Flight/Shuttle/Shuttle.Missions/Flight.001.STS-1/ ] of Space Shuttle Columbia [ http://www.ksc.nasa.gov/shuttle/resources/orbiters/columbia.html ]. NASA's Space Shuttles [ http://www.hq.nasa.gov/office/pao/History/shuttlehistory.html ] land like a normal airplane, carry a heavy cargo, carry a large crew, make use of cheap solid fuel, and are reusable. Previous to this flight [ http://images.jsc.nasa.gov/iams/html/pao/STS1.htm ], no manned orbiting space ship had ever landed on a runway. Space Shuttles now are the flagships and the workhorses [ http://www.ksc.nasa.gov/shuttle/missions/missions.html ] of NASA's space going rockets.
Astro 1 In Orbit
Title Astro 1 In Orbit
Explanation Fifteen years ago, in December of 1990, the Space Shuttle Orbiter Columbia [ http://www.nasa.gov/centers/kennedy/shuttleoperations/ orbiters/orbiterscol.html ] carried an array of astronomical telescopes [ http://images.jsc.nasa.gov/luceneweb/ caption_direct.jsp?photoId=STS035-28-022 ] high above the Earth's obscuring atmosphere to explore the Universe at [ http://archive.stsci.edu/uit/project/Astro1/ Astro1_pictures.html ] ultraviolet and x-ray wavelengths. The telescopes, known by the acronyms UIT [ http://archive.stsci.edu/uit/project/ ], HUT [ http://praxis.pha.jhu.edu/hut.html ], WUPPE [ http://www.sal.wisc.edu/WUPPE/ ], and BBXRT [ http://heasarc.gsfc.nasa.gov/docs/bbxrt/bbxrt_about.html ], are seen here in Columbia's payload bay against a spectacular view of the constellation Orion [ http://www.gb.nrao.edu/~rmaddale/Education/OrionTourCenter/ index.html ]. The ultraviolet telescopes [ http://praxis.pha.jhu.edu/instruments/ instruments.html ] were mounted on a common structure - HUT is visible in this view along with a star tracker (the silver cone at the left). Taken during the nighttime [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap981217.html ] portion of the shuttle's 90 minute orbit, the picture shows the telescopes and structures illuminated by moonlight [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap020921.html ].
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