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International Space Station (ISS) and Earth of Washington, D.C.
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From Cloudy to Clear
| Description |
During a recent flyby of Titan, the Cassini spacecraft looked beyond the utterly overcast moon and spied clear, distant Rhea in the blackness. |
| Full Description |
During a recent flyby of Titan, the Cassini spacecraft looked beyond the utterly overcast moon and spied clear, distant Rhea in the blackness. Titan (5,150 kilometers, or 3,200 miles across) is two-and-a-half times smaller than Earth and much less massive. This circumstance causes its atmosphere to extend to much higher altitudes above the surface than does Earth's. The Cassini spacecraft is unable to fly much closer than about 1000 kilometers (600 miles) above Titan's surface -- much closer, and the spacecraft would experience excessive torques from the atmosphere that could interfere with its ability to track the target. By contrast, the International Space Station orbits Earth at an altitude of about 350 kilometers (220 miles). The bright, fresh crater on Rhea (1,528 kilometers, or 949 miles across) appears near the center of the moon's crescent. The image was taken in visible-light with the Cassini spacecraft wide-angle camera on May 20, 2006, at a distance of approximately 53,000 kilometers (33,000 miles) from Titan and 873,000 kilometers (543,000 miles) from Rhea. Image scale is 320 meters (1,050 feet) per pixel on Titan and 5 kilometers (3 miles) per pixel on Rhea. The Cassini-Huygens mission is a cooperative project of NASA, the European Space Agency and the Italian Space Agency. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. The Cassini orbiter and its two onboard cameras were designed, developed and assembled at JPL. The imaging operations center is based at the Space Science Institute in Boulder, Colo. For more information about the Cassini-Huygens mission visit http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov . The Cassini imaging team homepage is at http://ciclops.org . *Credit:* NASA/JPL/Space Science Institute |
| Date |
June 21, 2006 |
|
Shuttle Enterprise Mated to
…
| Photo Description |
The Space Shuttle Enterprise atop the NASA 747 Shuttle Carrier Aircraft as it leaves NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center, Edwards, California. The Enterprise, first orbiter built, was not spaceflight rated and was used in 1977 to verify the landing, approach, and glide characteristics of the orbiters. It was also used for engineering fit-checks at the shuttle launch facilities. Following approach and landing tests in 1977 and its use as an engineering vehicle, Enterprise was donated to the National Air and Space Museum in Washington, D.C. |
| Project Description |
470,000 pounds. The engines burn a mixture of liquid oxygen and liquid hydrogen. In orbit, the Space Shuttles circle the earth at a speed of 17,500 miles per hour with each orbit taking about 90 minutes. A Space Shuttle crew sees a sunrise or sunset every 45 minutes. When Space Shuttle flights began in April 1981, Dryden Flight Research Center, Edwards, California, was the primary landing site for the Shuttles. Now Kennedy Space Center, Florida, is the primary landing site with Dryden remaining as the principal alternate landing site., Space Shuttles are the main element of America?s Space Transportation System and are used for space research and other space applications. The shuttles are the first vehicles capable of being launched into space and returning to Earth on a routine basis. Space Shuttles are used as orbiting laboratories in which scientists and mission specialists conduct a wide variety of scientific experiments. Crews aboard shuttles place satellites in orbit, rendezvous with satellites to carry out repair missions and return them to space, and retrieve satellites and return them to Earth for refurbishment and reuse. Space Shuttles are true aerospace vehicles. They leave Earth and its atmosphere under rocket power provided by three liquid-propellant main engines with two solid-propellant boosters attached plus an external liquid-fuel tank. After their orbital missions, they streak back through the atmosphere and land like airplanes. The returning shuttles, however, land like gliders, without power and on runways. Other rockets can place heavy payloads into orbit, but, they can only be used once. Space Shuttles are designed to be continually reused. When Space Shuttles are used to transport complete scientific laboratories into space, the laboratories remain inside the payload bay throughout the mission. They are then removed after the Space Shuttle returns to Earth and can be reused on future flights. Some of these orbital laboratories, like the Spacelab, provide facilities for several specialists to conduct experiments in such fields as medicine, astronomy, and materials manufacturing. Some types of satellites deployed by Space Shuttles include those involved in environmental and resources protection, astronomy, weather forecasting, navigation, oceanographic studies, and other scientific fields. The Space Shuttles can also launch spacecraft into orbits higher than the Shuttle?s altitude limit through the use of Inertial Upper Stage (IUS) propulsion units. After release from the Space Shuttle payload bay, the IUS is ignited to carry the spacecraft into deep space. The Space Shuttles are also being used to carry elements of the International Space Station into space where they are assembled in orbit. The Space Shuttles were built by Rockwell International?s Space Transportation Systems Division, Downey, California. Rockwell?s Rocketdyne Division (now part of Boeing) builds the three main engines, and Thiokol, Brigham City, Utah, makes the solid rocket booster motors. Martin Marietta Corporation (now Lockheed Martin), New Orleans, Louisiana, makes the external tanks. Each orbiter (Space Shuttle) is 121 feet long, has a wingspan of 78 feet, and a height of 57 feet. The Space Shuttle is approximately the size of a DC-9 commercial airliner and can carry a payload of 65,000 pounds into orbit. The payload bay is 60 feet long and 15 feet in diameter. Each main engine is capable of producing a sea level thrust of 375,000 pounds and a vacuum (orbital) thrust of |
| Photo Date |
1983 |
|
Shuttle Enterprise Being Wor
…
| Photo Description |
The Space Shuttle Enterprise being worked on in the weight & balance hangar. The Enterprise, the first orbiter built, was not spaceflight rated and was used in 1977 to verify the landing, approach, and glide characteristics of the orbiters in the Approach and Landing Tests (ALT) at Edwards Air Force Base, California. It was also used for engineering fit-checks at the shuttle launch facilities. Following approach and landing tests in 1977 and its use as an engineering vehicle, Enterprise was donated to the National Air and Space Museum in Washington, D.C. |
| Project Description |
470,000 pounds. The engines burn a mixture of liquid oxygen and liquid hydrogen. In orbit, the Space Shuttles circle the earth at a speed of 17,500 miles per hour with each orbit taking about 90 minutes. A Space Shuttle crew sees a sunrise or sunset every 45 minutes. When Space Shuttle flights began in April 1981, Dryden Flight Research Center, Edwards, California, was the primary landing site for the Shuttles. Now Kennedy Space Center, Florida, is the primary landing site with Dryden remaining as the principal alternate landing site., Space Shuttles are the main element of America?s Space Transportation System and are used for space research and other space applications. The shuttles are the first vehicles capable of being launched into space and returning to Earth on a routine basis. Space Shuttles are used as orbiting laboratories in which scientists and mission specialists conduct a wide variety of scientific experiments. Crews aboard shuttles place satellites in orbit, rendezvous with satellites to carry out repair missions and return them to space, and retrieve satellites and return them to Earth for refurbishment and reuse. Space Shuttles are true aerospace vehicles. They leave Earth and its atmosphere under rocket power provided by three liquid-propellant main engines with two solid-propellant boosters attached plus an external liquid-fuel tank. After their orbital missions, they streak back through the atmosphere and land like airplanes. The returning shuttles, however, land like gliders, without power and on runways. Other rockets can place heavy payloads into orbit, but, they can only be used once. Space Shuttles are designed to be continually reused. When Space Shuttles are used to transport complete scientific laboratories into space, the laboratories remain inside the payload bay throughout the mission. They are then removed after the Space Shuttle returns to Earth and can be reused on future flights. Some of these orbital laboratories, like the Spacelab, provide facilities for several specialists to conduct experiments in such fields as medicine, astronomy, and materials manufacturing. Some types of satellites deployed by Space Shuttles include those involved in environmental and resources protection, astronomy, weather forecasting, navigation, oceanographic studies, and other scientific fields. The Space Shuttles can also launch spacecraft into orbits higher than the Shuttle?s altitude limit through the use of Inertial Upper Stage (IUS) propulsion units. After release from the Space Shuttle payload bay, the IUS is ignited to carry the spacecraft into deep space. The Space Shuttles are also being used to carry elements of the International Space Station into space where they are assembled in orbit. The Space Shuttles were built by Rockwell International?s Space Transportation Systems Division, Downey, California. Rockwell?s Rocketdyne Division (now part of Boeing) builds the three main engines, and Thiokol, Brigham City, Utah, makes the solid rocket booster motors. Martin Marietta Corporation (now Lockheed Martin), New Orleans, Louisiana, makes the external tanks. Each orbiter (Space Shuttle) is 121 feet long, has a wingspan of 78 feet, and a height of 57 feet. The Space Shuttle is approximately the size of a DC-9 commercial airliner and can carry a payload of 65,000 pounds into orbit. The payload bay is 60 feet long and 15 feet in diameter. Each main engine is capable of producing a sea level thrust of 375,000 pounds and a vacuum (orbital) thrust of |
| Photo Date |
1983 |
|
Shuttle Enterprise Mated to
…
| Photo Description |
The Space Shuttle Enterprise, the nation's prototype space shuttle orbiter, before departing NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center, Edwards, California, at 11:00 a.m., 16 May 1983, on the first leg of its trek to the Paris Air Show at Le Bourget Airport, Paris, France. Seen here atop the huge 747 Shuttle Carrier Aircraft (SCA), the first stop for the Enterprise was Peterson AFB, Colorado Springs, Colorado. Piloting the 747 on the Europe trip were Joe Algranti, Johnson Space Center Chief Pilot, Astronaut Dick Scobee, and NASA Dryden Chief Pilot Tom McMurtry. Flight engineers for that portion of the flight were Dryden's Ray Young and Johnson Space Center's Skip Guidry. The Enterprise, named after the spacecraft of Star Trek fame, was originally carried and launched by the 747 during the Approach and Landing Tests (ALT) at Dryden Flight Research Center. |
| Project Description |
470,000 pounds. The engines burn a mixture of liquid oxygen and liquid hydrogen. In orbit, the Space Shuttles circle the earth at a speed of 17,500 miles per hour with each orbit taking about 90 minutes. A Space Shuttle crew sees a sunrise or sunset every 45 minutes. When Space Shuttle flights began in April 1981, Dryden Flight Research Center, Edwards, California, was the primary landing site for the Shuttles. Now Kennedy Space Center, Florida, is the primary landing site with Dryden remaining as the principal alternate landing site., Space Shuttles are the main element of America?s Space Transportation System and are used for space research and other space applications. The shuttles are the first vehicles capable of being launched into space and returning to Earth on a routine basis. Space Shuttles are used as orbiting laboratories in which scientists and mission specialists conduct a wide variety of scientific experiments. Crews aboard shuttles place satellites in orbit, rendezvous with satellites to carry out repair missions and return them to space, and retrieve satellites and return them to Earth for refurbishment and reuse. Space Shuttles are true aerospace vehicles. They leave Earth and its atmosphere under rocket power provided by three liquid-propellant main engines with two solid-propellant boosters attached plus an external liquid-fuel tank. After their orbital missions, they streak back through the atmosphere and land like airplanes. The returning shuttles, however, land like gliders, without power and on runways. Other rockets can place heavy payloads into orbit, but, they can only be used once. Space Shuttles are designed to be continually reused. When Space Shuttles are used to transport complete scientific laboratories into space, the laboratories remain inside the payload bay throughout the mission. They are then removed after the Space Shuttle returns to Earth and can be reused on future flights. Some of these orbital laboratories, like the Spacelab, provide facilities for several specialists to conduct experiments in such fields as medicine, astronomy, and materials manufacturing. Some types of satellites deployed by Space Shuttles include those involved in environmental and resources protection, astronomy, weather forecasting, navigation, oceanographic studies, and other scientific fields. The Space Shuttles can also launch spacecraft into orbits higher than the Shuttle?s altitude limit through the use of Inertial Upper Stage (IUS) propulsion units. After release from the Space Shuttle payload bay, the IUS is ignited to carry the spacecraft into deep space. The Space Shuttles are also being used to carry elements of the International Space Station into space where they are assembled in orbit. The Space Shuttles were built by Rockwell International?s Space Transportation Systems Division, Downey, California. Rockwell?s Rocketdyne Division (now part of Boeing) builds the three main engines, and Thiokol, Brigham City, Utah, makes the solid rocket booster motors. Martin Marietta Corporation (now Lockheed Martin), New Orleans, Louisiana, makes the external tanks. Each orbiter (Space Shuttle) is 121 feet long, has a wingspan of 78 feet, and a height of 57 feet. The Space Shuttle is approximately the size of a DC-9 commercial airliner and can carry a payload of 65,000 pounds into orbit. The payload bay is 60 feet long and 15 feet in diameter. Each main engine is capable of producing a sea level thrust of 375,000 pounds and a vacuum (orbital) thrust of |
| Photo Date |
1982 |
|
Shuttle Enterprise Mated to
…
| Photo Description |
The Space Shuttle Enterprise, the nation's prototype space shuttle orbiter, departed NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center, Edwards, California, at 11:00 a.m., 16 May 1983, on the first leg of its trek to the Paris Air Show at Le Bourget Airport, Paris, France. Carried by the huge 747 Shuttle Carrier Aircraft (SCA), the first stop for the Enterprise was Peterson AFB, Colorado Springs, Colorado. Piloting the 747 on the Europe trip were Joe Algranti, Johnson Space Center Chief Pilot, Astronaut Dick Scobee, and NASA Dryden Chief Pilot Tom McMurtry. Flight engineers for that portion of the flight were Dryden's Ray Young and Johnson Space Center's Skip Guidry. The Enterprise, named after the spacecraft of Star Trek fame, was originally carried and launched by the 747 during the Approach and Landing Tests (ALT) at Dryden Flight Research Center. |
| Project Description |
470,000 pounds. The engines burn a mixture of liquid oxygen and liquid hydrogen. In orbit, the Space Shuttles circle the earth at a speed of 17,500 miles per hour with each orbit taking about 90 minutes. A Space Shuttle crew sees a sunrise or sunset every 45 minutes. When Space Shuttle flights began in April 1981, Dryden Flight Research Center, Edwards, California, was the primary landing site for the Shuttles. Now Kennedy Space Center, Florida, is the primary landing site with Dryden remaining as the principal alternate landing site., Space Shuttles are the main element of America?s Space Transportation System and are used for space research and other space applications. The shuttles are the first vehicles capable of being launched into space and returning to Earth on a routine basis. Space Shuttles are used as orbiting laboratories in which scientists and mission specialists conduct a wide variety of scientific experiments. Crews aboard shuttles place satellites in orbit, rendezvous with satellites to carry out repair missions and return them to space, and retrieve satellites and return them to Earth for refurbishment and reuse. Space Shuttles are true aerospace vehicles. They leave Earth and its atmosphere under rocket power provided by three liquid-propellant main engines with two solid-propellant boosters attached plus an external liquid-fuel tank. After their orbital missions, they streak back through the atmosphere and land like airplanes. The returning shuttles, however, land like gliders, without power and on runways. Other rockets can place heavy payloads into orbit, but, they can only be used once. Space Shuttles are designed to be continually reused. When Space Shuttles are used to transport complete scientific laboratories into space, the laboratories remain inside the payload bay throughout the mission. They are then removed after the Space Shuttle returns to Earth and can be reused on future flights. Some of these orbital laboratories, like the Spacelab, provide facilities for several specialists to conduct experiments in such fields as medicine, astronomy, and materials manufacturing. Some types of satellites deployed by Space Shuttles include those involved in environmental and resources protection, astronomy, weather forecasting, navigation, oceanographic studies, and other scientific fields. The Space Shuttles can also launch spacecraft into orbits higher than the Shuttle?s altitude limit through the use of Inertial Upper Stage (IUS) propulsion units. After release from the Space Shuttle payload bay, the IUS is ignited to carry the spacecraft into deep space. The Space Shuttles are also being used to carry elements of the International Space Station into space where they are assembled in orbit. The Space Shuttles were built by Rockwell International?s Space Transportation Systems Division, Downey, California. Rockwell?s Rocketdyne Division (now part of Boeing) builds the three main engines, and Thiokol, Brigham City, Utah, makes the solid rocket booster motors. Martin Marietta Corporation (now Lockheed Martin), New Orleans, Louisiana, makes the external tanks. Each orbiter (Space Shuttle) is 121 feet long, has a wingspan of 78 feet, and a height of 57 feet. The Space Shuttle is approximately the size of a DC-9 commercial airliner and can carry a payload of 65,000 pounds into orbit. The payload bay is 60 feet long and 15 feet in diameter. Each main engine is capable of producing a sea level thrust of 375,000 pounds and a vacuum (orbital) thrust of |
| Photo Date |
1983 |
|
STS-116 Launch
| Name of Image |
STS-116 Launch |
| Date of Image |
2006-12-09 |
| Full Description |
Against a black night sky, the Space Shuttle Discovery and its seven-member crew head toward Earth-orbit and a scheduled linkup with the International Space Station (ISS). Liftoff from the Kennedy Space Center's launch pad 39B occurred at 8:47 p.m. (EST) on Dec. 9, 2006 in what was the first evening shuttle launch since 2002. The primary mission objective was to deliver and install the P5 truss element. The P5 installation was conducted during the first of three space walks, and involved use of both the shuttle and station?s robotic arms. The remainder of the mission included a major reconfiguration and activation of the ISS electrical and thermal control systems, as well as delivery of Zvezda Service Module debris panels, which will increase ISS protection from potential impacts of micro-meteorites and orbital debris. Two major payloads developed at the Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) were also delivered to the Station. The Lab-On-A Chip Application Development Portable Test System (LOCAD-PTS) and the Water Delivery System, a vital component of the Station?s Oxygen Generation System. |
|
STS-116 Launch
| Name of Image |
STS-116 Launch |
| Date of Image |
2006-12-09 |
| Full Description |
Against a black night sky, the Space Shuttle Discovery and its seven-member crew head toward Earth-orbit and a scheduled linkup with the International Space Station (ISS). Liftoff from the Kennedy Space Center's launch pad 39B occurred at 8:47 p.m. (EST) on Dec. 9, 2006 in what was the first evening shuttle launch since 2002. The primary mission objective was to deliver and install the P5 truss element. The P5 installation was conducted during the first of three space walks, and involved use of both the shuttle and station?s robotic arms. The remainder of the mission included a major reconfiguration and activation of the ISS electrical and thermal control systems, as well as delivery of Zvezda Service Module debris panels, which will increase ISS protection from potential impacts of micro-meteorites and orbital debris. Two major payloads developed at the Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) were also delivered to the Station. The Lab-On-A Chip Application Development Portable Test System (LOCAD-PTS) and the Water Delivery System, a vital component of the Station?s Oxygen Generation System. |
|
STS-116 Launch
| Name of Image |
STS-116 Launch |
| Date of Image |
2006-12-09 |
| Full Description |
Against a black night sky, the Space Shuttle Discovery and its seven-member crew head toward Earth-orbit and a scheduled linkup with the International Space Station (ISS). Liftoff from the Kennedy Space Center's launch pad 39B occurred at 8:47 p.m. (EST) on Dec. 9, 2006 in what was the first evening shuttle launch since 2002. The primary mission objective was to deliver and install the P5 truss element. The P5 installation was conducted during the first of three space walks, and involved use of both the shuttle and station?s robotic arms. The remainder of the mission included a major reconfiguration and activation of the ISS electrical and thermal control systems, as well as delivery of Zvezda Service Module debris panels, which will increase ISS protection from potential impacts of micro-meteorites and orbital debris. Two major payloads developed at the Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) were also delivered to the Station. The Lab-On-A Chip Application Development Portable Test System (LOCAD-PTS) and the Water Delivery System, a vital component of the Station?s Oxygen Generation System. |
|
A Farewell View of the Inter
…
| Name of Image |
A Farewell View of the International Space Station (ISS) |
| Date of Image |
2001-12-15 |
| Full Description |
As seen through a window on the Space Shuttle Endeavor's aft flight deck, the International Space Station (ISS), with its newly-staffed crew of three, Expedition Four, is contrasted against a patch of the blue and white Earth. The Destiny laboratory is partially covered with shadows in the foreground. The photo was taken during the departure of the Earth-bound Endeavor, bringing to a close the STS-108 mission, the 12th Shuttle mission to visit the ISS. |
|
Hurricane Dean
| Title |
Hurricane Dean |
| Description |
The 2007 Atlantic hurricane season had been running for several months before it saw its first hurricane, Dean. Dean began as a wave-like disturbance in the cloud bands off South America, which gathered together to form a storm system on August 13. By August 18, Dean had grown in power to become a Category 4 hurricane, [ http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/aboutsshs.shtml ] swirling in the Caribbean Sea. The storm caused great damage to Jamaica and Grand Cayman Island, among other Caribbean islands, and as of August 19, it was forecast to come ashore on the Mexican Yucatan Peninsula not far from the border with Belize. Forecasters at the National Hurricane Center [ http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/index.shtml? ] were also expecting the storm to continue to gather power to Category 5 strength. While weather and Earth science satellites are known for getting a perspective on storms as they orbit the Earth, they were not the only sensors viewing Hurricane Dean from high above. Astronauts aboard the International Space Station and the crew of the Space Shuttle "Endeavour" passed over the storm on August 18. These two photographs were taken by astronauts on "Endeavour" moments from each other. The first is a close-up of the eye of the storm, the second is a wider-angle view, both taken by a handheld camera around noon local time. Hurricane Dean showed a deep and well-defined eye at the center of the storm, with powerful thunderstorms around the eyewall sending up tall towers of clouds. In the close-up view, these towering clouds appear to be casting shadows on the cloud deck below them. The deep eye of the storm has a clear three-dimensional shape in these oblique angle photographs, but the camera angle does not allow us to see down the bottom of the storm. At the time of these photographs, Hurricane Dean was passing just south of Jamaica as a Category 4 storm with sustained winds as high as 240 kilometers per hour (150 miles per hour). NASA photographs provided courtesy of NASA Public Affairs Office. |
|
Hurricane Dean
| Title |
Hurricane Dean |
| Description |
The 2007 Atlantic hurricane season had been running for several months before it saw its first hurricane, Dean. Dean began as a wave-like disturbance in the cloud bands off South America, which gathered together to form a storm system on August 13. By August 18, Dean had grown in power to become a Category 4 hurricane, [ http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/aboutsshs.shtml ] swirling in the Caribbean Sea. The storm caused great damage to Jamaica and Grand Cayman Island, among other Caribbean islands, and as of August 19, it was forecast to come ashore on the Mexican Yucatan Peninsula not far from the border with Belize. Forecasters at the National Hurricane Center [ http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/index.shtml? ] were also expecting the storm to continue to gather power to Category 5 strength. While weather and Earth science satellites are known for getting a perspective on storms as they orbit the Earth, they were not the only sensors viewing Hurricane Dean from high above. Astronauts aboard the International Space Station and the crew of the Space Shuttle "Endeavour" passed over the storm on August 18. These two photographs were taken by astronauts on "Endeavour" moments from each other. The first is a close-up of the eye of the storm, the second is a wider-angle view, both taken by a handheld camera around noon local time. Hurricane Dean showed a deep and well-defined eye at the center of the storm, with powerful thunderstorms around the eyewall sending up tall towers of clouds. In the close-up view, these towering clouds appear to be casting shadows on the cloud deck below them. The deep eye of the storm has a clear three-dimensional shape in these oblique angle photographs, but the camera angle does not allow us to see down the bottom of the storm. At the time of these photographs, Hurricane Dean was passing just south of Jamaica as a Category 4 storm with sustained winds as high as 240 kilometers per hour (150 miles per hour). NASA photographs provided courtesy of NASA Public Affairs Office. |
|
Kharg Island, Iran
| Title |
Kharg Island, Iran |
| Description |
high resolution 1000 pixel-wide image (1.2 MB JPEG) Kharg Island is Iran's primary oil export terminal in the Persian Gulf. This rocky limestone island is unique because it is one of the few islands in the Persian Gulf with freshwater which has collected within the porous limestone. In addition to its commercial and strategic importance, the freshwater has biological importance, supporting populations of gazelles. This high-resolution photograph taken by astronauts [ http://eol.jsc.nasa.gov/newsletter/IssRemoteSensing/ ] on board the International Space Station shows detail of the tanker dock facilities, tanks and other infrastructure. Sunglint on the surface of the water highlights small amounts of oil on the sea surface and reveals the direction of the local currents.ISS005-E-11900, [ http://eol.jsc.nasa.gov/scripts/sseop/photo.pl?mission=ISS005& roll=E&frame=11900 ] taken 31 August 2002, was provided by the Earth Sciences and Image Analysis Laboratory at Johnson Space Center. Additional images taken by astronauts and cosmonauts can be viewed at the NASA-JSC Gateway to Astronaut Photography of Earth. [ http://eol.jsc.nasa.gov/ ] |
|
Approaching the Internationa
…
| Title |
Approaching the International Space Station |
| Explanation |
Last Monday the crew of Space Shuttle Atlantis [ http://www.ksc.nasa.gov/shuttle/resources/orbiters/atlantis.html ] took in this view [ http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/gallery/images/shuttle/sts-106/html/s106e5056.html ] as they approached the developing International Space Station [ http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/station/reference/faq/index.html ] (ISS). From top to bottom, the astronauts saw a station currently consisting of the Progress supply module, the Zvezda service module [ http://www.shuttlepresskit.com/ISS_OVR/assembly2_overview.htm ], the Zarya cargo module [ http://www.shuttlepresskit.com/ISS_OVR/element1.htm ], and the Unity connecting module [ http://www.shuttlepresskit.com/ISS_OVR/element2.htm ]. Never before had astronauts seen the station since the remote-controlled additions of Progress [ http://www.space.com/missionlaunches/launches/progress_prelaunch_000805.html ] and Zvezda [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap000718.html ]. Energy collecting flat solar panels [ http://www.qrg.nwu.edu/projects/vss/docs/Power/1-what-are-solar-panels.html ] can be seen extending from some of the modules. Soon after this picture was taken, Atlantis docked with the ISS [ http://www.shuttlepresskit.com/ISS_OVR/ ] at the Unity [ http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/gallery/images/shuttle/sts-106/html/s106e5061.html ] end. The astronauts have worked hard [ http://www.shuttlepresskit.com/STS-106/index.htm ] unloading supplies, installing and testing equipment, and even planning to reboost the floating space station [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap990223.html ] to a higher orbit. The Shuttle and its entire crew are scheduled to return to Earth Wednesday. The Space Shuttle Discovery [ http://www.ksc.nasa.gov/shuttle/resources/orbiters/discovery.html ] is then scheduled to visit [ http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/shuttle/archives/sts-92/index.html ] the ISS in two weeks. |
|
Discovery Spring
| Title |
Discovery Spring |
| Explanation |
Welcome to the equinox [ http://solar.physics.montana.edu/YPOP/Classroom/Lessons/ Sundials/equinox.html ]! Moving northward in Earth's sky, today the Sun crosses [ http://www.analemma.com/ ] the celestial equator at 13:31 Universal Time [ http://aa.usno.navy.mil/faq/docs/UT.html ] bringing Spring to the north and Fall to the south. The change of season is known as an equinox as the Sun rises [ http://solar.physics.montana.edu/YPOP/Classroom/Lessons/ Sundials/sundials.html ] due east on the horizon and sets due west -- providing an equal night [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap000923.html ], 12 night and 12 daylight hours, for both northern and southern hemispheres. In this picture [ http://www-pao.ksc.nasa.gov/kscpao/captions/ 2001/mar/01pp0440.htm ] from March 8, the Sun peers over the eastern horizon at the space shuttle Discovery's dramatic morning launch on mission STS-102. Having delivered supplies and taxied crew to the International Space Station [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap010228.html ], Discovery will remain in orbit for this first day of northern hemisphere Spring. Discovery is scheduled to land [ http://www-pao.ksc.nasa.gov/kscpao/nasafact/landing.htm ] at Kennedy Space Center [ http://www.ksc.nasa.gov/ ] in Florida early tomorrow. |
|
Approaching the Internationa
…
| Title |
Approaching the International Space Station |
| Explanation |
Earlier this month the crew of the US [ http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/us.html ] Space Shuttle Endeavor [ http://science.ksc.nasa.gov/shuttle/resources/orbiters/endeavour.html ] took in this view [ http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/gallery/images/shuttle/sts-100/html/s100e5165.html ] as they approached the developing International Space Station [ http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/station/ ] (ISS). The Endeavor [ http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/shuttle/crew/ ] and ISS crew [ http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/station/crew/exp2/index.html ] installed Italy [ http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/it.html ]'s Raffaello, a Multi-Purpose Logistics Module [ http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/station/assembly/elements/mplm/ ] and successfully deployed Canada [ http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/ca.html ]'s Canadarm2 [ http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/station/assembly/elements/mss/index.html ], a robot remote-controlled arm that can move about the outside of the station [ http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/station/assembly/flights/2001/6a.html ]. The shuttle undocked from the ISS [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap000918.html ] yesterday and is scheduled to return to Earth today. A manned [ ftp://ftp.hq.nasa.gov/pub/pao/pressrel/2001/01-083.txt ] Russian [ http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/rs.html ] Soyuz spacecraft [ http://www.spaceandtech.com/spacedata/elvs/soyuz_sum.shtml ] is scheduled to dock with Earth's busiest orbiting outpost [ http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/station/reference/faq/index.html ] early today. |
|
Atlantis to Orbit
| Title |
Atlantis to Orbit |
| Explanation |
Birds [ http://www.pbs.org/lifeofbirds/ ] don't fly this high. Airplanes [ http://quest.arc.nasa.gov/aero/background/ ] don't go this fast. The Statue of Liberty [ http://www.nps.gov/stli/ ] weighs less. No species [ http://www.sp2000.org/ ] other than human can even comprehend what is going on, nor could any human [ http://www.neanderthal-modern.com/ ] just a millennium ago. The launch of a rocket [ http://rax.arc.nasa.gov/activities/pofo/docs/Propulsion/zoom-conventional.html ] bound for space is an event that inspires awe [ http://www.drsky.com/1099-lightshow.html ] and challenges description. Pictured above [ http://science.ksc.nasa.gov/shuttle/missions/sts-104/images/captions/KSC-01PP-1284.html ], the Space Shuttle Atlantis [ http://science.ksc.nasa.gov/shuttle/resources/orbiters/atlantis.html ] lifted off to visit the International Space Station [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap010509.html ] during the early morning hours of July 12. From a standing start, the two million kilogram rocket ship left [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap010219.html ] to circle the Earth [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap010204.html ] where the outside air is too thin to breathe and where there is little noticeable onboard gravity [ http://microgravity.grc.nasa.gov/ ]. Rockets [ http://www.grc.nasa.gov/WWW/K-12/TRC/Rockets/history_of_rockets.html ] bound for space are now launched [ http://seds.lpl.arizona.edu/ssa/docs/Space.Shuttle/general.shtml ] from somewhere on Earth about once a week [ http://www.space.com/missionlaunches/launches/launch_schedule.html ]. |
|
Mir is 10
| Title |
Mir is 10 |
| Explanation |
The first module of the Russian Space Agency's Mir Space Station [ http://www.osf.hq.nasa.gov/mir/Welcome.html ] was launched into orbit 10 years ago (on February 20, 1986). Mir has since been substantially expanded [ http://liftoff.msfc.nasa.gov/rsa/mir.html ] in orbit by adding additional modules including the Kvant Astrophysics Module [ http://heasarc.gsfc.nasa.gov/docs/heasarc/missions/kvant.html ](1987) and recently a docking module. NASA's Space Shuttle Atlantis [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap950812.html ] was modified to allow it to dock with Mir in 1995 (STS-71, [ http://lib04.jsc.nasa.gov/sts-71/ ], STS 74 [ http://lib04.jsc.nasa.gov/sts-74/glance/ ]) beginning a series of Shuttle-Mir flights [ http://www.rzg.mpg.de/~bdp/vsohp/mir-shuttle.html ] scheduled to continue through 1997. In this wide angle view - poised above planet Earth with sunlight glinting from solar panels - Mir and Atlantis are seen connected via the docking module from the perspective of the shuttle payload bay. The image is from an IMAX movie frame [ http://lib04.jsc.nasa.gov/sts-74/images/imax/ ] taken during the STS 74 mission. In late 1997, building on this jointly developed understanding and experience, the US and Russia will launch the first modules of the International Space Station [ http://issa-www.jsc.nasa.gov/ss/spacestation.html ]. |
|
M2-F1 lifting body and Pares
…
| Title |
M2-F1 lifting body and Paresev 1B on ramp |
| Description |
In this photo of the M2-F1 lifting body and the Paresev 1B on the ramp, the viewer sees two vehicles representing different approaches to building a research craft to simulate a spacecraft able to land on the ground instead of splashing down in the ocean as the Mercury capsules did. The M2-F1 was a lifting body, a shape able to re-enter from orbit and land. The Paresev (Paraglider Research Vehicle) used a Rogallo wing that could be (but never was) used to replace a conventional parachute for landing a capsule-type spacecraft, allowing it to make a controlled landing on the ground. The wingless, lifting body aircraft design was initially conceived as a means of landing an aircraft horizontally after atmospheric reentry. The absence of wings would make the extreme heat of re-entry less damaging to the vehicle. In 1962, Dryden management approved a program to build a lightweight, unpowered lifting body as a prototype to flight test the wingless concept. It would look like a "flying bathtub," and was designated the M2-F1, the "M" referring to "manned" and "F" referring to "flight" version. It featured a plywood shell placed over a tubular steel frame crafted at Dryden. Construction was completed in 1963. The first flight tests of the M2-F1 were over Rogers Dry Lake at the end of a tow rope attached to a hopped-up Pontiac convertible driven at speeds up to about 120 mph. This vehicle needed to be able to tow the M2-F1 on the Rogers Dry Lakebed adjacent to NASA's Flight Research Center (FRC) at a minimum speed of 100 miles per hour. To do that, it had to handle the 400-pound pull of the M2-F1. Walter "Whitey" Whiteside, who was a retired Air Force maintenance officer working in the FRC's Flight Operations Division, was a dirt-bike rider and hot-rodder. Together with Boyden "Bud" Bearce in the Procurement and Supply Branch of the FRC, Whitey acquired a Pontiac Catalina convertible with the largest engine available. He took the car to Bill Straup's renowned hot-rod shop near Long Beach for modification. With a special gearbox and racing slicks, the Pontiac could tow the 1,000-pound M2-F1 110 miles per hour in 30 seconds. It proved adequate for the roughly 400 car tows that got the M2-F1 airborne to prove it could fly safely and to train pilots before they were towed behind a C-47 aircraft and released. These initial car-tow tests produced enough flight data about the M2-F1 to proceed with flights behind the C-47 tow plane at greater altitudes. The C-47 took the craft to an altitude of 12,000 where free flights back to Rogers Dry Lake began. Pilot for the first series of flights of the M2-F1 was NASA research pilot Milt Thompson. Typical glide flights with the M2-F1 lasted about two minutes and reached speeds of 110 to l20 mph. A small solid landing rocket, referred to as the "instant L/D rocket," was installed in the rear base of the M2-F1. This rocket, which could be ignited by the pilot, provided about 250 pounds of thrust for about 10 seconds. The, Rogallo wing was never used on a spacecraft, it revolutionized the sport of hang gliding, and a different but related kind of wing will be used on the X-38 technology demonstrator for a crew return vehicle from the International space station., referred to as a `space frame.' The keel and leading edges of the wings were constructed of 2 1/2-inch diameter aluminum tubing. The leading edge sweep angle was held constant at 50 degrees by a rigid spreader bar. Additional wing structure fabricated of steel tubing ensured structural integrity. Seven weeks after the project was initiated the team rolled out the Paresev 1. It resembled a grown-up tricycle, with a rudimentary seat, an angled tripod mast, and, perched on top of the mast, a Rogallo-type parawing. The pilot sat out in the open, strapped in the seat, with no enclosure of any kind. He controlled the descent rate by tilting the wing fore and aft, and turned by tilting the wing from side to side with a control stick that came from overhead. NASA registered the Paresev, the first NASA research airplane to be constructed totally "in-house," with the Federal Aviation Administration on February 12, 1962. Flight testing started immediately. There was one space frame built called the Paresev that used four different wing types. Paresev 1 had a linen membrane, with the control stick coming from overhead in front of the pilots seat. Paresev 1A had a regulation control stick and a Dacron membrane. Paresev 1B had a smaller Dacron membrane with the space frame remaining the same. Paresev 1C used a half-scale version of the inflatable Gemini parawing with a small change to the space frame. All `space frames,' regardless of the parawing configuration, had a shield with "Paresev 1-A" and the NASA meatball on the front of the vehicle. PARESEV-1 After the space frame was completed a sailmaker was asked to sew the wing membrane according to the planform developed by NASA Flight Research Center personnel. He suggested using Dacron instead of the linen fabric chosen, but yielded to the engineers' specs. A nylon bolt rope was attached in the trailing edge of the 150-square-foot wing membrane. The rope was unrestrained except at the wing tips and was therefore free to equalize the load between the two lobes of the wing. This worked reasonably well, but flight tests proved the wing to be too flexible with it flapping and bulging in alarming ways. The poor membrane design led to trailing edge flutter, with longitudinal and lateral stick forces being severe. A number of different rigging modifications to improve the flying characteristics were tried, but very few were successful and none were predictable. Everything seemed to affect stick forces in the worst way. The fifth flight aloft lasted 10 seconds. On a ground tow the Paresev and pilot fell 10 feet. Considerable damage was done to the Paresev with the pilot, Bruce Peterson, being taken to the base hospital. Injuries sustained by the pilot were not serious. After this accident the Paresev was extensively rebuilt and renamed, Paresev-1A. PARESEV 1-A The sailmaker was asked again to construct a 150-square-foot membrane the way he wanted to. The resulting wing membrane had excellent contours in flight and, rocket could be used to extend the flight time near landing if needed. More than 400 ground tows and 77 aircraft tow flights were carried out with the M2-F1. The success of Dryden's M2-F1 program led to NASA's development and construction of two heavyweight lifting bodies based on studies at NASA's Ames and Langley research centers--the M2-F2 and the HL-10, both built by the Northrop Corporation, and the U.S. Air Force's X-24 program, with an X-24A and -B built by Martin. The Lifting Body program also heavily influenced the Space Shuttle program. The M2-F1 program demonstrated the feasibility of the lifting body concept for horizontal landings of atmospheric entry vehicles. It also demonstrated a procurement and management concept for prototype flight test vehicles that produced rapid results at very low cost (approximately $50,000, excluding salaries of government employees assigned to the project). The Paresev (Paraglider Rescue Vehicle) was an indirect outgrowth of kite-parachute studies by NACA Langley engineer Francis M. Rogallo. In the early 1960s the "Rogallo wing" seemed an excellent means of returning a spacecraft to Earth. The delta wing design was patented by Mr. Rogallo. In May 1961, Robert R. Gilruth, director NASA's Space Task Group, requested studies of an inflatable Rogallo-type "Parawing" for spacecraft. Several companies responded, North American Aviation produced the most acceptable concept and development was contracted to that company. In November 1961 NASA Headquarters launched a paraglider development program, with Langely doing wind-tunnel studies and the NASA Flight Research Center supporting the North American test program. The North American concept was a capsule type vehicle with a stowed "parawing" that could be deployed and controlled from within for a landing more like an airplane instead of a "splash down" in the ocean as was the practice in the Mercury and later the Gemini and Apollo programs. The logistics became enormous and the price exorbitant, besides which, NASA pilots and engineers felt some baseline experience like building a vehicle and flying a Parawing should be accomplished first. The Paresev (Paraglider Research Vehicle) was used to gain in-flight experience with four different membranes (wings) and was not used to develop the more complicated inflatable deployment system. The Paresev was designed by Charles Richard, of the Flight Research Center's Vehicle and System Dynamics Branch, with the rest of the team being: engineers Richard Klein, Gary Layton, John Orahood, and Joe Wilson, Frank Fedor and LeRoy Barto from the Maintenance and Manufacturing Branch, Project Manager Victor Horton, with Gary Layton becoming Project Manager later on in the Program. Mr. Paul Bikle, Director of the Center, gave instructions that were short and to the point: build a single-seat Paraglider and "do it quick and cheap." The Paresev was unpowered, the "fuselage" an open framework fabricated of welded 4130 steel tubing, was made from 6 ounce Dacron. The space frame was rebuilt with more sophistication than the Paresev 1 had. The shock absorbers were Ford automotive parts, the wing universal joint was a 1948 Pontiac part, and the tires and wheels were from a Cessna 175 aircraft. The overhead stick was replaced with a stick and pulley arrangement that operated more like conventional aircraft controls. This vehicle had much improved stick forces and handling qualities. The instrumentation used to obtain data was quite crude, partially as a result of the desire to keep the program simple and low in cost and also because there was no onboard power. To measure performance, technicians installed a large alpha vane on the wing apex with a scale at the trailing edge that the pilot could read directly. A curved bubble level measured the vehicle's attitude, and a Fairchild camera recorded the glide slope PARESEV 1-B The Paresev 1-B used the Paresev 1-A space frame with a smaller Dacron wing (100 square feet) and was flight tested to evaluate its handling qualities with lower lift-to-drag values. One NASA project engineer described its gliding ability as "pretty scary." PARESEV 1-C The space frame of the vehicle remained almost unchanged from the earlier vehicles. However, a new control box gave the pilot the ability to increase or decrease the nitrogen in the inflatable wing supports to compensate for the changing density of the air. Two bottles of nitrogen provided an extra supply of nitrogen. The vehicle featured a partially inflatable wing. The whole wing was not inflatable, the three chambers that acted as spars and supported the wing inflated. The center spar ran fore and aft and measured 191 inches, two other inflatable spars formed the leading edges. These three compartments were filled with nitrogen under pressure to make them rigid. The Paresev in this configuration was expected to closely approximate the aerodynamic characteristics that would be encountered with the Gemini space capsule with a parawing extended. The Paresev was very unstable in flight with this configuration. The first Paresev flights began with tows across the dry lakebed, in 1962, using a NASA vehicle, an International Harvester carry-all (6 cylinder). Eventually ground and airtows were done using a Stearman sport biplane (450 hp), a Piper Super Cub (150-180 hp), Cessna L-19 (200 hp Bird Dog) and a Boeing-Vertol HC-1A. Speed range of the Paresev was about 35-65 mph. The Paresev completed nearly 350 flights during a research program from 1962 until 1964. Pilots flying the Paresev included NASA pilots Milton Thompson, Bruce Peterson, and Neil Armstrong from Dryden, Robert Champine from Langley, and astronaut Gus Grissom, plus North American test pilot Charles Hetzel. The Paresev was legally transferred to the National Air and Space Museum of the Smithsonian Institute, Washington, D.C. Despite its looks, the Paresev was a useful research aircraft that helped develop a new way to fly. Although the |
| Date |
01.01.1963 |
|
Aero Spacelines B377SG Super
…
| Title |
Aero Spacelines B377SG Super Guppy on Ramp Loading the X-24B and HL-10 Lifting Bodies. |
| Description |
The Aero Spacelines B377SG Super Guppy was at Dryden in May, 1976, to ferry the X-24 and HL-10 lifting bodies from the Center to the Air Force Museum at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio. The oversized cargo aircraft is a further modification of the B377PG Pregnant Guppy, which was built to transport outsized cargo for NASA's Apollo program, primarily to carry portions of the Saturn V rockets from the manufacturer to Cape Canaveral. The original Guppy modification incorporated the wings, engines, lower fuselage and tail from a Boeing 377 Stratocruiser with a huge upper fuselage more than 20 feet in diameter. The Super Guppy further expanded the fuselage added a taller vertical tail for better lateral stability. A later version, the Super Guppy Turbine, is still in occasional use by NASA to transport oversize structures. The X-24 was one of a group of lifting bodies flown by the NASA Flight Research Center (now Dryden Flight Research Center), Edwards, California, in a joint program with the U.S. Air Force at Edwards Air Force Base from 1963 to 1975. The lifting bodies were used to demonstrate the ability of pilots to maneuver and safely land wingless vehicles designed to fly back to Earth from space and be landed like an airplane at a predetermined site. Lifting bodies' aerodynamic lift, essential to flight in the atmosphere, was obtained from their shape. The addition of fins and control surfaces allowed the pilots to stabilize and control the vehicles and regulate their flight paths. Built by Martin Aircraft Company, Maryland, for the U.S. Air Force, the X-24A was a bulbous vehicle shaped like a teardrop with three vertical fins at the rear for directional control. It weighed 6,270 pounds, was 24.5 feet long and 11.5 feet wide (measuring just the fuselage, not the distance between the tips of the outboard fins). Its first unpowered glide flight was on April 17, 1969, with Air Force Maj. Jerauld Gentry at the controls. Gentry also piloted its first powered flight on March 19, 1970. The X-24A was flown 28 times in the program that, like the HL-10, validated the concept that a Space Shuttle vehicle could be landed unpowered. The fastest speed achieved by the X-24A was 1,036 miles per hour (mph--Mach 1.6). Its maximum altitude was 71,400 feet. It was powered by an XLR-11 rocket engine with a maximum theoretical vacuum thrust of 8,480 pounds. The X-24A was later modified into the X-24B. The bulbous shape of the X-24A was converted into a "flying flatiron" shape with a rounded top, flat bottom, and double delta platform that ended in a pointed nose. The X-24B demonstrated that accurate unpowered reentry vehicle landings were operationally feasible. Top speed achieved by the X-24B was 1,164 mph and the highest altitude it reached was 74,130 feet. The vehicle is on display at the Air Force Museum, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio. The pilot on the last powered flight of the X-24B was Bill Dana, who also flew the last X-15 flight about seven, years earlier. The X-24A shape was later borrowed for the X-38 Crew Return Vehicle (CRV) technology demonstrator for the International Space Station. The X-24B is on public display at the Air Force Museum, Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio. The HL-10 was delivered to the FRC by Northrop in January 1966. Its first flight was on Dec. 22 of the same year. The pilot was Bruce Peterson. The HL-10 was flown 37 times and it set several program records. On Feb. 18, 1970, Air Force test pilot Maj. Peter Hoag flew it to 1,228 mph (Mach 1.86), fastest speed of any of the lifting bodies. Nine days later, NASA's Bill Dana flew the HL-10 to 90,303 feet, the highest altitude reached by any of the lifting body vehicles. The HL-10 was also the first lifting body to fly supersonically--on May 9, 1969, with Manke at the controls. The HL-10 featured a flat bottom and rounded top -- much like an airfoil -- and it had a delta planform. In its final configuration, three vertical fins, two of them canted outwards from the body and a tall center fin, gave the craft directional control. A flush canopy blended into the smooth rounded nose. It was about 21 feet long, with a span of 13.6 feet. Its glide-flight weight was 6,473 lbs. and its maximum gross weight was over 10,000 lbs. Flights with the HL-10 contributed substantially to the decision to design the space shuttles without air-breathing engines that would have been used for landings. Its final flight was on July 17, 1970. The HL-10 is now on public display at Dryden. |
| Date |
05.01.1976 |
|
Shuttle Enterprise Mated to
…
| Title |
Shuttle Enterprise Mated to 747 SCA in Flight |
| Description |
International Space Station into space where they are assembled in orbit. The Space Shuttles were built by Rockwell International's Space Transportation Systems Division, Downey, California. Rockwell's Rocketdyne Division (now part of Boeing) builds the three main engines, and Thiokol, Brigham City, Utah, makes the solid rocket booster motors. Martin Marietta Corporation (now Lockheed Martin), New Orleans, Louisiana, makes the external tanks. Each orbiter (Space Shuttle) is 121 feet long, has a wingspan of 78 feet, and a height of 57 feet. The Space Shuttle is approximately the size of a DC-9 commercial airliner and can carry a payload of 65,000 pounds into orbit. The payload bay is 60 feet long and 15 feet in diameter. Each main engine is capable of producing a sea level thrust of 375,000 pounds and a vacuum (orbital) thrust of 470,000 pounds. The engines burn a mixture of liquid oxygen and liquid hydrogen. In orbit, the Space Shuttles circle the earth at a speed of 17,500 miles per hour with each orbit taking about 90 minutes. A Space Shuttle crew sees a sunrise or sunset every 45 minutes. When Space Shuttle flights began in April 1981, Dryden Flight Research Center, Edwards, California, was the primary landing site for the Shuttles. Now Kennedy Space Center, Florida, is the primary landing site with Dryden remaining as the principal alternate landing site., The Space Shuttle Enterprise, the nation's prototype space shuttle orbiter, departed NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center, Edwards, California, at 11:00 a.m., 16 May 1983, on the first leg of its trek to the Paris Air Show at Le Bourget Airport, Paris, France. Carried by the huge 747 Shuttle Carrier Aircraft (SCA), the first stop for the Enterprise was Peterson AFB, Colorado Springs, Colorado. Piloting the 747 on the Europe trip were Joe Algranti, Johnson Space Center Chief Pilot, Astronaut Dick Scobee, and NASA Dryden Chief Pilot Tom McMurtry. Flight engineers for that portion of the flight were Dryden's Ray Young and Johnson Space Center's Skip Guidry. The Enterprise, named after the spacecraft of Star Trek fame, was originally carried and launched by the 747 during the Approach and Landing Tests (ALT) at Dryden Flight Research Center. Space Shuttles are the main element of America's Space Transportation System and are used for space research and other space applications. The shuttles are the first vehicles capable of being launched into space and returning to Earth on a routine basis. Space Shuttles are used as orbiting laboratories in which scientists and mission specialists conduct a wide variety of scientific experiments. Crews aboard shuttles place satellites in orbit, rendezvous with satellites to carry out repair missions and return them to space, and retrieve satellites and return them to Earth for refurbishment and reuse. Space Shuttles are true aerospace vehicles. They leave Earth and its atmosphere under rocket power provided by three liquid-propellant main engines with two solid-propellant boosters attached plus an external liquid-fuel tank. After their orbital missions, they streak back through the atmosphere and land like airplanes. The returning shuttles, however, land like gliders, without power and on runways. Other rockets can place heavy payloads into orbit, but, they can only be used once. Space Shuttles are designed to be continually reused. When Space Shuttles are used to transport complete scientific laboratories into space, the laboratories remain inside the payload bay throughout the mission. They are then removed after the Space Shuttle returns to Earth and can be reused on future flights. Some of these orbital laboratories, like the Spacelab, provide facilities for several specialists to conduct experiments in such fields as medicine, astronomy, and materials manufacturing. Some types of satellites deployed by Space Shuttles include those involved in environmental and resources protection, astronomy, weather forecasting, navigation, oceanographic studies, and other scientific fields. The Space Shuttles can also launch spacecraft into orbits higher than the Shuttle's altitude limit through the use of Inertial Upper Stage (IUS) propulsion units. After release from the Space Shuttle payload bay, the IUS is ignited to carry the spacecraft into deep space. The Space Shuttles are also being used to carry elements of the |
| Date |
01.01.1983 |
|
Shuttle Enterprise Mated to
…
| Title |
Shuttle Enterprise Mated to 747 SCA on Ramp |
| Description |
The Space Shuttle Enterprise, the nation's prototype space shuttle orbiter, before departing NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center, Edwards, California, at 11:00 a.m., 16 May 1983, on the first leg of its trek to the Paris Air Show at Le Bourget Airport, Paris, France. Seen here atop the huge 747 Shuttle Carrier Aircraft (SCA), the first stop for the Enterprise was Peterson AFB, Colorado Springs, Colorado. Piloting the 747 on the Europe trip were Joe Algranti, Johnson Space Center Chief Pilot, Astronaut Dick Scobee, and NASA Dryden Chief Pilot Tom McMurtry. Flight engineers for that portion of the flight were Dryden's Ray Young and Johnson Space Center's Skip Guidry. The Enterprise, named after the spacecraft of Star Trek fame, was originally carried and launched by the 747 during the Approach and Landing Tests (ALT) at Dryden Flight Research Center. Space Shuttles are the main element of America's Space Transportation System and are used for space research and other space applications. The shuttles are the first vehicles capable of being launched into space and returning to Earth on a routine basis. Space Shuttles are used as orbiting laboratories in which scientists and mission specialists conduct a wide variety of scientific experiments. Crews aboard shuttles place satellites in orbit, rendezvous with satellites to carry out repair missions and return them to space, and retrieve satellites and return them to Earth for refurbishment and reuse. Space Shuttles are true aerospace vehicles. They leave Earth and its atmosphere under rocket power provided by three liquid-propellant main engines with two solid-propellant boosters attached plus an external liquid-fuel tank. After their orbital missions, they streak back through the atmosphere and land like airplanes. The returning shuttles, however, land like gliders, without power and on runways. Other rockets can place heavy payloads into orbit, but, they can only be used once. Space Shuttles are designed to be continually reused. When Space Shuttles are used to transport complete scientific laboratories into space, the laboratories remain inside the payload bay throughout the mission. They are then removed after the Space Shuttle returns to Earth and can be reused on future flights. Some of these orbital laboratories, like the Spacelab, provide facilities for several specialists to conduct experiments in such fields as medicine, astronomy, and materials manufacturing. Some types of satellites deployed by Space Shuttles include those involved in environmental and resources protection, astronomy, weather forecasting, navigation, oceanographic studies, and other scientific fields. The Space Shuttles can also launch spacecraft into orbits higher than the Shuttle's altitude limit through the use of Inertial Upper Stage (IUS) propulsion units. After release from the Space Shuttle payload bay, the IUS is ignited to carry the spacecraft into deep space. The Space Shuttles are also being used to carry, elements of the International Space Station into space where they are assembled in orbit. The Space Shuttles were built by Rockwell International's Space Transportation Systems Division, Downey, California. Rockwell's Rocketdyne Division (now part of Boeing) builds the three main engines, and Thiokol, Brigham City, Utah, makes the solid rocket booster motors. Martin Marietta Corporation (now Lockheed Martin), New Orleans, Louisiana, makes the external tanks. Each orbiter (Space Shuttle) is 121 feet long, has a wingspan of 78 feet, and a height of 57 feet. The Space Shuttle is approximately the size of a DC-9 commercial airliner and can carry a payload of 65,000 pounds into orbit. The payload bay is 60 feet long and 15 feet in diameter. Each main engine is capable of producing a sea level thrust of 375,000 pounds and a vacuum (orbital) thrust of 470,000 pounds. The engines burn a mixture of liquid oxygen and liquid hydrogen. In orbit, the Space Shuttles circle the earth at a speed of 17,500 miles per hour with each orbit taking about 90 minutes. A Space Shuttle crew sees a sunrise or sunset every 45 minutes. When Space Shuttle flights began in April 1981, Dryden Flight Research Center, Edwards, California, was the primary landing site for the Shuttles. Now Kennedy Space Center, Florida, is the primary landing site with Dryden remaining as the principal alternate landing site. |
| Date |
01.01.1982 |
|
STS-81 Crew Members in front
…
| Title |
STS-81 Crew Members in front of Atlantis |
| Description |
The STS-81 crew poses in front of the Space Shuttle Atlantis as it stands poised for liftoff from Launch Pad 39B to dock with the Mir space station. They are (from left): Mission Specialists Marsha S. Ivins, Mission Commander Michael A. Baker, Mission Specialists J.M. "Jerry" Linenger and Peter J. K. "Jeff" Wisoff, Pilot Brent W. Jett, Jr., and Mission Specialist John M. Grunsfeld. STS81 is the fifth Shuttle-wazzu Mir docking mission and will feature the transfer of Linenger to Mir to replace astronaut John Blaha, who has been on the orbital laboratory since Sept. 19 after arrival there during the STS-79 mission. During STS-81, Shuttle and Mir crews will conduct risk mitigation, human life science, microgravity and materials processing experiments that will provide data for the design, development and operation of the International Space Station. The - primary payload is the SPACEHAB-DM double module will provide space for more than 2,000 pounds of hardware, food and water that will be transferred into the Russian space station during five days of docking operations during the 10-day mission. The SPACEHAB will also be used to return experiment samples from the Mir to Earth for analysis and for microgravity experiments during the mission. |
| Date |
12.15.1996 |
|
Odyssey/Marie
PIA03745
Sol (our sun)
Mars Radiation Experiment
| Title |
Odyssey/Marie |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
Data from Odyssey's Martian radiation environment experiment show that the radiation dose equivalent at Mars is two to three times greater than that aboard the International Space Station. The differences are primarily due to the magnetic field surrounding the Earth, which provides considerable shielding to astronauts in orbit. Mars lacks a strong magnetic field and is therefore more exposed to the harshest elements of space radiation. JPL, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the 2001 Mars Odyssey mission for NASA's Office of Space Science in Washington, D.C. Investigators at Arizona State University in Tempe, the University of Arizona in Tucson and NASA's Johnson Space Center, Houston, operate the science instruments. Additional science partners are located at the Russian Aviation and Space Agency and at Los Alamos National Laboratories, New Mexico. Lockheed Martin Astronautics, Denver, is the prime contractor for the project, and developed and built the orbiter. Mission operations are conducted jointly from Lockheed Martin and from JPL. |
|
From Cloudy to Clear
PIA08204
Saturn
Imaging Science Subsystem -
…
| Title |
From Cloudy to Clear |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
During a recent flyby of Titan, the Cassini spacecraft looked beyond the utterly overcast moon and spied clear, distant Rhea in the blackness. Titan (5,150 kilometers, or 3,200 miles across) is two-and-a-half times smaller than Earth and much less massive. This circumstance causes its atmosphere to extend to much higher altitudes above the surface than does Earth's. The Cassini spacecraft is unable to fly much closer than about 1000 kilometers (600 miles) above Titan's surface -- much closer, and the spacecraft would experience excessive torques from the atmosphere that could interfere with its ability to track the target. By contrast, the International Space Station orbits Earth at an altitude of about 350 kilometers (220 miles). The bright, fresh crater on Rhea (1,528 kilometers, or 949 miles across) appears near the center of the moon's crescent. The image was taken in visible-light with the Cassini spacecraft wide-angle camera on May 20, 2006, at a distance of approximately 53,000 kilometers (33,000 miles) from Titan and 873,000 kilometers (543,000 miles) from Rhea. Image scale is 320 meters (1,050 feet) per pixel on Titan and 5 kilometers (3 miles) per pixel on Rhea. The Cassini-Huygens mission is a cooperative project of NASA, the European Space Agency and the Italian Space Agency. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. The Cassini orbiter and its two onboard cameras were designed, developed and assembled at JPL. The imaging operations center is based at the Space Science Institute in Boulder, Colo. For more information about the Cassini-Huygens mission visit http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/home/index.cfm [ http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov ]. The Cassini imaging team homepage is at http://ciclops.org [ http://ciclops.org ]. |
|
Estimated Radiation Dosage o
…
PIA03480
Sol (our sun)
Mars Radiation Experiment
| Title |
Estimated Radiation Dosage on Mars |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
This global map of Mars shows the estimated radiation dosages from cosmic rays reaching the surface, a serious health concern for any future human exploration of the planet. The estimates are based on cosmic-radiation measurements by the Mars radiation environment experiment, an instrument on NASA's Mars 2000 Odyssey spacecraft, plus information about Mars' surface elevations from the laser altimeter instrument on NASA's Mars Global Surveyor. The areas of Mars expected to have the lowest levels of cosmic radiation are where the elevation is lowest, because those areas have more atmosphere above them to block out some of the radiation. Earth's thick atmosphere shields us from most cosmic radiation, but Mars has a much thinner atmosphere than we have on Earth. The colors in the map refer to the estimated annual dose equivalent in rems, a unit of radiation dose. The range is generally from 10 rems(color-coded dark blue) to 20 rems (color coded dark red). Radiation exposure for astronauts on the International Space Station in Earth orbit is typically equivalent to an annualized rate of 20 to 40 rems. NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif. manages the 2001 Mars Odyssey and Mars Global Surveyor missions for NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington D.C. The Mars radiation environment experiment was developed by NASA's Johnson Space Center, Houston. Lockheed Martin Astronautics, Denver, is the prime contractor for Odyssey, and developed and built the orbiter. Mission operations are conducted jointly from Lockheed Martin and from JPL, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena. |
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