|
|
Browse All
:
Space Shuttle Orbiter and Earth of Johnson Space Center (JSC) and Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC)
|
Printer Friendly |
In-flight Video Captured by
…
| Name of Image |
In-flight Video Captured by External Tank Camera System |
| Date of Image |
2005-07-26 |
| Full Description |
In this July 26, 2005 video, Earth slowly fades into the background as the STS-114 Space Shuttle Discovery climbs into space until the External Tank (ET) separates from the orbiter. An External Tank ET Camera System featuring a Sony XC-999 model camera provided never before seen footage of the launch and tank separation. The camera was installed in the ET LO2 Feedline Fairing. From this position, the camera had a 40% field of view with a 3.5 mm lens. The field of view showed some of the Bipod area, a portion of the LH2 tank and Intertank flange area, and some of the bottom of the shuttle orbiter. Contained in an electronic box, the battery pack and transmitter were mounted on top of the Solid Rocker Booster (SRB) crossbeam inside the ET. The battery pack included 20 Nickel-Metal Hydride batteries (similar to cordless phone battery packs) totaling 28 volts DC and could supply about 70 minutes of video. Located 95 degrees apart on the exterior of the Intertank opposite orbiter side, there were 2 blade S-Band antennas about 2 1/2 inches long that transmitted a 10 watt signal to the ground stations. The camera turned on approximately 10 minutes prior to launch and operated for 15 minutes following liftoff. The complete camera system weighs about 32 pounds. Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC), Johnson Space Center (JSC), Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC), and Kennedy Space Center (KSC) participated in the design, development, and testing of the ET camera system. |
|
The Compton Gamma Ray Observ
…
| Title |
The Compton Gamma Ray Observatory |
| Explanation |
The Compton Gamma Ray Observatory [ http://cossc.gsfc.nasa.gov/cossc/descriptions/cgro.html ] (CGRO) was the most massive instrument ever launched by a NASA Space Shuttle [ http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/shuttle/index.html ] in 1991 and continues to revolutionize gamma-ray astronomy [ http://cossc.gsfc.nasa.gov/gamma/gamma.html ]. Before Compton loses more stabilizing gyroscopes, NASA is considering [ http://cnn.com/2000/TECH/space/01/14/satellite.deorbit/index.html ] firing onboard rockets to bring it on a controlled reentry into the ocean. This orbiting observatory sees the sky in gamma-ray photons [ http://cossc.gsfc.nasa.gov/cossc/descriptions/espec1.html ] - light so blue humans can't see it. These photons are blocked by the Earth's atmosphere from reaching the Earth's surface. Results from CGRO, pictured above [ http://images.jsc.nasa.gov/images/pao/STS37/10064038.htm ], have shown the entire universe to be a violent and rapidly changing place - when viewed in gamma-rays. Astronomers using CGRO data continue to make monumental discoveries [ http://adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-abs_connect?&text=CGRO&query_type=PAPERS ], including identifying mysterious gamma-ray bursts [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/cgi-bin/cossc/apod_search?gamma+ray+burst ] that uniquely illuminate the early universe, discovery of a whole new class of QSOs [ http://cossc.gsfc.nasa.gov/cossc/descriptions/egret_blazars.html ], and discovery of objects so strange [ http://cossc.gsfc.nasa.gov/cossc/descriptions/egret_src.html ] that astronomers can't yet figure out what they are. |
|
Mir Dreams
| Title |
Mir Dreams |
| Explanation |
This dream-like image of Mir [ http://www.hq.nasa.gov/osf/mir/ ] was recorded by astronauts as the Space Shuttle Atlantis [ http://kids.msfc.nasa.gov/Rockets/ShuttleNames.asp ] approached the Russian space station prior to docking during the STS-76 mission [ http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/shuttle/archives/sts-76/ index.html ]. Sporting spindly appendages and solar panels, Mir resembles a whimsical flying insect hovering about 350 kilometers above New Zealand's [ http://www.rasnz.org.nz/index.htm ] South Island and the city of Nelson [ http://webnz.com/nelsonarts/foundations.html ], near Cook Strait [ http://www.south-pole.com/p0000071.htm ]. In late March 1996, Atlantis shuttled astronaut Shannon W. Lucid [ http://www.jsc.nasa.gov/Bios/htmlbios/lucid.html ] to Mir for a five month visit, increasing Mir's occupancy from 2 to 3. It returned to pick Lucid up and drop off astronaut John Blaha [ http://www.jsc.nasa.gov/Bios/htmlbios/blaha.html ] during the STS-79 mission [ http://www.ksc.nasa.gov/shuttle/missions/sts-79/mission-sts-79.html ] in August of that year. Since becoming operational in 1986, Mir has [ http://www.hq.nasa.gov/osf/mir/mirvis.html ] been visited by over 100 spacefarers from the nations of planet Earth including, Russia, the United States, Great Britain, Germany, France, Japan, Austria, Kazakhstan and Slovakia. After joint Shuttle-Mir [ http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/history/shuttle-mir/ ] training missions in support of the International Space Station [ http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/station/index.html ], continuous occupation of Mir ended in August 1999. Mir is still in orbit and its operation is now being pursued by commercial interests [ http://www.mirstation.com/index.html ]. |
|
The Equal Night
| Title |
The Equal Night |
| Explanation |
Yesterday the Sun crossed [ http://www-spof.gsfc.nasa.gov/stargaze/Sseason.htm ] the celestial equator heading south, marking the Equinox -- the first day of Autumn in the northern hemisphere and Spring in the south [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap000826.html ]. Equinox means "equal night" and with the Sun on the celestial equator [ http://www.physics.csbsju.edu/astro/CS/CSintro.html ], Earthlings will experience 12 hours of daylight and 12 hours of darkness. For those in the northern hemisphere, the days [ http://www.nsta.org/programs/sst/aws/unit2.htm ] will continue to grow shorter with the Sun marching [ http://www.lalc.k12.ca.us/laep/smart/Sunrise/k3les1.html ] lower in the sky as winter approaches. A few weeks after the Autumnal Equinox of 1994, the Crew of the Shuttle Endeavor [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap950807.html ] recorded this image [ http://images.jsc.nasa.gov/images/pao/STS68/20172510.htm ] of the Sun poised [ http://sohowww.nascom.nasa.gov/data/realtime-images.html ] above the Earth's limb. Glare illuminates Endeavor's vertical tail (pointing toward the Earth) along with radar equipment [ http://southport.jpl.nasa.gov/ ] in the payload bay. |
|
Earth's Richat Structure
| Title |
Earth's Richat Structure |
| Explanation |
What on Earth is that? The Richat Structure [ http://cass.jsc.nasa.gov/publications/slidesets/geology.html ] in the Sahara Desert [ http://library.thinkquest.org/16645/the_land/sahara_desert.shtml ] of Mauritania [ http://www.odci.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/mr.html ] is easily visible from space because it is nearly 50 kilometers across. Once thought to be an impact crater [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap990711.html ], the Richat Structure [ http://images.jsc.nasa.gov/images/pao/STS58/10083803.htm ]'s flat middle and lack of shock-altered rock indicates otherwise. The possibility that the Richat Structure [ http://images.jsc.nasa.gov/images/pao/GT4/10074021.htm ] was formed by a volcanic eruption [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap960805.html ] also seems improbable because of the lack of a dome of igneous [ http://jersey.uoregon.edu/~mstrick/AskGeoMan/geoQuerry14.html ] or volcanic rock. Rather, the layered sedimentary rock of the Richat structure [ http://www.jsc.nasa.gov/pao/media/rel/Past-News-Releases-93-94-95/93-088.DOC.html ] is now thought by many to have been caused by uplifted rock sculpted by erosion. Why the Richat Structure [ http://www.lib.ttu.edu/playa/text/playa7.htm ] is nearly circular remains a mystery. |
|
Upgrading the International
…
| Title |
Upgrading the International Space Station |
| Explanation |
The International Space Station [ http://www.shuttlepresskit.com/ISS_OVR/index.htm ] (ISS) will be the largest human-made object ever to orbit [ http://hyperphysics.phy-astr.gsu.edu/hbase/orbv.html ] the Earth [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap010204.html ]. The station [ http://www.shuttlepresskit.com/ISS_OVR/orbit_assembly.htm ] is so large that it could not be launched [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap010723.html ] all at once -- it is being built piecemeal [ http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/gallery/images/station/assembly/ndxpage1.html ] with large sections added continually by flights of the Space Shuttle [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap990411.html ]. To function, the ISS needs trusses [ http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/structure/elements/its.html ] to keep it rigid and to route electricity [ http://www.sciencemadesimple.com/static.html ] and liquid coolants. These trusses [ http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/station/assembly/elements/its/ ] are huge, extending over 15 meters long, and with masses over 10,000 kilograms. Pictured above [ http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/gallery/images/shuttle/sts-116/html/s116e05983.html ] earlier this month, astronauts [ http://liftoff.msfc.nasa.gov/academy/astronauts/wannabe.html ] Robert L. Curbeam [ http://www.jsc.nasa.gov/Bios/htmlbios/curbeam.html ] (USA) and Christer Fuglesang [ http://www.jsc.nasa.gov/Bios/htmlbios/fuglesan.html ] (Sweden) work to attach a new truss segment [ http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/shuttle/shuttlemissions/sts116/news/STS-116-07.html ] to the ISS and begin to upgrade the power grid. |
|
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. |
|
Aurora Astern
| Title |
Aurora Astern |
| Explanation |
Sailing [ http://freespace.virgin.net/chris.jones/ccsu1.htm ] upside down, 115 nautical miles [ http://www.seewise.com/or/faqtxt/a3.html ] above Earth, the crew of the Space Shuttle Endeavour [ http://science.ksc.nasa.gov/shuttle/resources/orbiters/ endeavour.html ] made this spectacular time exposure of the southern aurora (aurora australis) in October of 1994. Aurora [ http://www.geo.mtu.edu/weather/aurora/ ], also known as the northern and southern lights, appear as luminous bands or streamers of light which can extend to altitudes of 200 miles. They are typically visible from the Earth's surface at high latitudes and are triggered by high energy particles from the Sun [ http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/ y2000/ast07jun_1m.htm ]. The delicate colors are caused by energetic electrons colliding with oxygen and nitrogen molecules in the upper atmosphere. In this picture [ http://images.jsc.nasa.gov/images/pao/ STS68/20169118.htm ], the rear structure of the shuttle Endeavour is in the foreground with the vertical tail fin pointed toward Earth. Star trails [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap000715.html ] are the short streaks above Earth's horizon. |
|
A Supply Ship Approaches the
…
| Title |
A Supply Ship Approaches the Space Station |
| Explanation |
Looking out a window of the International Space Station [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap060920.html ] brings breathtaking views. Visible vistas include a vast and colorful Earth, a deep dark sky, and an occasional spaceship sent to visit the station. Visible on September 20 of last year was a Soyuz TMA-9 spacecraft [ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soyuz_TMA-9 ] carrying not only supplies but also three new astronauts. A few days before this picture [ http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/gallery/images/station/crew-13/html/iss013e82934.html ] was taken, the U.S. Space Shuttle Atlantis [ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=so8axV56ujY ] had just departed. The three new approaching astronauts were American Michael E. Lopez-Alegria [ http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/expeditions/expedition14/exp14_interview_lopez-alegria.html ], Russian Mikhail Tyurin [ http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/expeditions/expedition14/exp14_interview_tyurin.html ], and Iranian-American Anousheh Ansari [ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anousheh_Ansari ]. Ms. Ansari visited the International Space Station (ISS) briefly as a paying spaceflight participant for the Federal Space Agency [ http://www.roscosmos.ru/index.asp?Lang=ENG ] of Russia, and wrote a popular blog [ http://spaceblog.xprize.org/ ] about her experiences. Lopez-Alegria would lead the ISS crew dubbed Expedition 14 [ http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/expeditions/expedition14/index.html ], which included the flight engineer and Soyuz pilot Tyurin, flight engineer American Sunita Williams [ http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/expeditions/expedition14/exp14_interview_williams.html ], and flight engineer German Thomas Reiter [ http://www.jsc.nasa.gov/Bios/htmlbios/reiter-t.html ]. Tyurin returned [ http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/main/index.html ] to the Earth with Lopez-Alegria this past week. |
|
To Fly Free in Space
| Title |
To Fly Free in Space |
| Explanation |
At about 100 meters from the cargo bay of the space shuttle Challenger, Bruce McCandless II was further out than anyone had ever been before. Guided by a Manned Maneuvering Unit [ http://www.astronautix.com/craft/shulemmu.htm ] (MMU), astronaut McCandless, pictured above [ http://grin.hq.nasa.gov/ABSTRACTS/GPN-2000-001087.html ], was floating free in space. McCandless [ http://www.jsc.nasa.gov/Bios/htmlbios/mccandless-b.html ] and fellow NASA astronaut [ http://www.jsc.nasa.gov/Bios/index.html ] Robert Stewart [ http://www.jsc.nasa.gov/Bios/htmlbios/stewart-rl.html ] were the first to experience such an "untether [ http://www-istp.gsfc.nasa.gov/Education/wtether.html ]ed space walk [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap990801.html ]" during Space Shuttle [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap990411.html ] mission 41-B [ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/STS-41-B ] in 1984 [ http://www.online-literature.com/orwell/1984/ ]. The MMU [ http://galacticvoyager.com/pat/mmu/ ] works by shooting jets of nitrogen [ http://periodic.lanl.gov/elements/7.html ] and has since been used to help deploy and retrieve satellites. With a mass over 140 kilograms, an MMU is heavy on Earth [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap070325.html ], but, like everything, is weightless when drifting in orbit. The MMU was replaced with the SAFER [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap011002.html ] backpack propulsion unit. |
|
A Flying Astronaut Over Eart
…
| Title |
A Flying Astronaut Over Earth |
| Explanation |
What would it be like to fly free over the seas and clouds of Earth? In 1994 astronaut Mark Lee [ http://www.jsc.nasa.gov/Bios/htmlbios/lee.html ] found out when he tested the Simplified Aid for EVA Rescue (SAFER) system for NASA [ http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/ ]. SAFER [ http://archive.larc.nasa.gov/shemesh/Lfm97/slides/lfm97-bldsafer-slides/P003.html ] is a backpack propulsion unit [ http://quest.arc.nasa.gov/space/teachers/suited/6work.html ] that incorporates small nitrogen [ http://periodic.lanl.gov/elements/7.html ] thrusters controlled by hand and moderated by computer. Pictured [ http://grin.hq.nasa.gov/ABSTRACTS/GPN-2000-001040.html ], Lee jets about the bay of Space Shuttle Discovery [ http://science.ksc.nasa.gov/shuttle/resources/orbiters/discovery.html ], over 200 kilometers above Earth [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap001127.html ] in the first untethered space walk [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap990801.html ] in ten years. Lee was not in danger -- the shuttle could have been used to retrieve him. SAFER [ http://www.spaceflightnow.com/shuttle/sts092/video/001019safer1_qt.html ], smaller than the Manned Maneuvering Unit [ http://ffden-2.phys.uaf.edu/211.web.stuff/Adamczak/mmu.htm ], is designed as a backup system to help astronauts [ http://www.jsc.nasa.gov/Bios/ ] in the unlikely event that they become too separated from their work outside the International Space Station [ http://www.shuttlepresskit.com/ISS_OVR/ ]. |
|
Space Station and Space Shut
…
| Title |
Space Station and Space Shuttle: Backyard View |
| Explanation |
Knowing when and where [ http://www.heavens-above.com/ ] to look, many enthusiastic sky gazers have been able to spot the International Space Station (ISS) as a bright star streaking [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap001214.html ] through the twilight. But with a digital camera and a small telescope, recognizable images are possible [ http://www.hobbyspace.com/SatWatching/ ] too. Astronomer Ricardo Borba offers this example [ http://www.borba.com/iss/ ] of the Space Shuttle Discovery [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap010320.html ] docked with the ISS [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap010228.html ], recorded this August from his backyard in Ottawa, Canada. Operating a digital video camera on an 8 inch reflecting telescope, Borba tracked the Earth-orbiting pair by hand. Unwanted telescope motion and atmospheric blurring [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap000725.html ] caused most of the video frames to be indistinct, still the single best frame (left) from his video sequence is amazingly sharp. For comparison, he constructed a computer generated image (right) showing the approximate orientation of the Shuttle/ISS docking configuration based on virtual 3D models [ http://vesuvius.jsc.nasa.gov/er/seh/sehvrml.html ] available on the web [ http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/gallery/vrml/station/ ]. |
|
Orbiting Astronaut Reflects
…
| Title |
Orbiting Astronaut Reflects Earth |
| Explanation |
Astronaut self-portraits [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap060121.html ] can be particularly interesting. Visible in the above picture [ http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/gallery/images/shuttle/ sts-118/html/iss015e22561.html ], working in from the outer borders, are the edges of the reflecting helmet of a space suit [ http://science.howstuffworks.com/space-suit.htm ], modules of the International Space Station [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap070625.html ] (ISS), the Earth [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap070325.html ], the arms of Expedition 15 [ http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/expeditions/ expedition15/index.html ] astronaut Clay Anderson [ http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/expeditions/ expedition15/exp15_interview_anderson.html ], and the digital camera used to snap the image. This picture [ http://www.digg.com/space/Could_this_be_the_best_self_shot_ever_PIC ] was taken during the shuttle orbiter Endeavour [ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Space_Shuttle_Endeavour ]'s mission to expand the space station last August. The large curvature of the Earth [ http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/expeditions/expedition16/journal_peggy_whitson_7.html ] appearing in the visor reflection [ http://mirrorproject.com/ ] is not the true curvature of our spherical Earth, but rather an artifact of the curve of the space helmet. Earth's horizon appears only slightly curved [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap071127.html ] when viewed from the height of the ISS -- approximately 400 kilometers. The next space shuttle mission [ http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/shuttle/main/index.html ] to the space station is currently expected to take place next month and includes the installation of the scientific Columbus Laboratory [ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Columbus_laboratory ]. |
|
Shuttle Engine Blast
| Title |
Shuttle Engine Blast |
| Explanation |
The Space Shuttle Discovery [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap950808.html ]'s orbital maneuvering system (OMS) engine firing [ http://images.jsc.nasa.gov/images/pao/STS51I/10062237.htm ] produced this dramatic flare as it cruised "upside down" in low Earth orbit. Discovery [ http://www.ksc.nasa.gov/shuttle/resources/orbiters/ discovery.html ] was named for a ship commanded by Captain James Cook RN [ http://www.south-pole.com/p0000071.htm ], the 18th Century English astronomer and navigator. Cook's voyages [ http://pacific.vita.org/pacific/cook/ ] of discovery established new standards in scientific exploration and brought extensive knowledge of the Pacific regions, including Australia, New Zealand, and the Hawaiian Island [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap980725.html ] archipelago to Europeans. The Space Shuttle [ http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/shuttle/reference/ index.html ] Endeavor [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap950807.html ], also named after one of Cook's ships, is the newest of NASA's four-orbiter shuttle fleet [ http://www.ksc.nasa.gov/shuttle/resources/orbiters/ orbiters.html ]. |
|
Space Station Mir Over Earth
| Title |
Space Station Mir Over Earth |
| Explanation |
This picture of the Russian space station Mir over the Pacific Ocean was recorded by the Space Shuttle Discovery [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap950808.html ] in February 1995. During this mission [ http://www.ksc.nasa.gov/shuttle/missions/sts-63/mission-sts-63.html ] Discovery performed a rendezvous and "fly around" with Mir in preparation for a future docking mission. Many scientific experiments and astronomical observations were completed jointly by the American astronauts and the Russian cosmonauts. An IMAX [ http://www.spe.sony.com/Pictures/sonytheatres/imax/imax.html ] camera took many pictures [ http://www.hq.nasa.gov/office/pao/NewsRoom/imaxgallery.html ] of this historic encounter. Some cosmonauts have spent more than a year on board Mir, the longest anyone has ever lived in space. Work on an International Space Station [ http://issa-www.jsc.nasa.gov/ss/SpaceStation_homepage.html ] is in progress. |
|
Aurora Astern
| Title |
Aurora Astern |
| Explanation |
Sailing upside down, 115 nautical miles above Earth, the crew of the Space Shuttle Endeavour [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap950807.html ] made this spectacular time exposure of the southern aurora (aurora australis) in October of 1994. The aurora [ http://www.geo.mtu.edu/weather/aurora/ ], also known as the northern and southern lights, appear as luminous bands or streamers of light which can extend to altitudes of 200 miles. They are typically visible from the Earth's surface at high latitudes and are caused by high energy particles from the Sun [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap951025.html ]. The delicate colors are caused by energetic electrons colliding with oxygen and nitrogen in the atmosphere. In this picture [ http://images.jsc.nasa.gov/images/pao/STS68/20169118.htm ], the rear structure of the Space Shuttle is visible in the foreground with the vertical tail fin pointed toward Earth. Star trails [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap950926.html ] are visible as small streaks above Earth's horizon. |
|
Hawaii
| Title |
Hawaii |
| Explanation |
Aloha [ http://www.ipl.org/youth/hello/hawaiian.html ]! With the graceful arc of Earth's limb in the background, the Hawaiian Island [ http://visibleearth.nasa.gov/cgi-bin/viewrecord?4668 ] archipelago is visible in this stunning photo [ http://images.jsc.nasa.gov/images/pao/ STS26/10062983.htm ] taken by the astronauts onboard the shuttle Discovery [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap980308.html ] in October of 1988. Along with popular beaches and tropical resorts, these volcanic islands [ http://hvo.wr.usgs.gov/volcanowatch/ ] offer extreme elevations with dark, dry, cloudless skies [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap020425.html ]. Consequently they have also become popular sites for large and sophisticated ground based telescopes [ http://www.ifa.hawaii.edu/ifa/ifa.html ]. The peak of Mauna Kea [ http://www.ifa.hawaii.edu/mko/maunakea.htm ], on the Big Island (upper left), boasts an impressive array of astronomical instruments including twin Kecks [ http://astro.caltech.edu/mirror/keck/ ], the Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope [ http://www.cfht.hawaii.edu/ ], the NASA IRTF [ http://irtf.ifa.hawaii.edu/ ], the JCMT and UKIRT [ http://www.jach.hawaii.edu/ ], the Subaru [ http://www.naoj.org/ ] and the Gemini Telescope Project [ http://www.gemini.edu ]. The dormant volcanic cone of Haleakala [ http://www.ifa.hawaii.edu/haleakala/ ] on Maui (just below the Big Island) is home to the Air Force Maui Optical Station [ http://ulua.mhpcc.af.mil ] and the Mees Solar Observatory [ http://koa.ifa.hawaii.edu/ ]. Mahalo nui loa [ http://www.ipl.org/youth/hello/hawaiian.html ]! |
|
The Space Shuttle Docks with
…
| Title |
The Space Shuttle Docks with Mir |
| Explanation |
Hundreds of kilometers above the Earth [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap950622.html ]'s surface, the United States Space Shuttle Atlantis [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap950812.html ] docks with the Russian Space Station Mir [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap950915.html ]. The photograph was taken by Nikolai Budarin from a Russian Soyuz spacecraft on July 4, 1995. During this mission [ http://www.ksc.nasa.gov/shuttle/missions/sts-71/mission-sts-71.html ] astronauts answered questions from school students over amateur radio [ http://www.nasa.gov/sarex/sarex.html ], and performed life science experiments [ http://mission.jsc.nasa.gov/sts-71/payloads/science.html ] aboard the SpaceLab [ http://mission.jsc.nasa.gov/sts-71/payloads/spacelab.html ]. The SpaceLab experiments [ http://mission.jsc.nasa.gov/sts-71/payloads/lshome.html ] were designed to understand how the Russian Space program combats the effects on the human body of the long-durations in space. |
|
Shuttle Engine Blast
| Title |
Shuttle Engine Blast |
| Explanation |
The Space Shuttle Discovery [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap950808.html ]'s orbital maneuvering system (OMS) engine firing [ http://images.jsc.nasa.gov/images/pao/STS51I/10062237.htm ] produced this dramatic flare as it cruised "upside down" in low Earth orbit. Discovery [ http://www.ksc.nasa.gov/shuttle/resources/orbiters/discovery.html ] was named for a ship commanded by Captain James Cook RN [ http://www.cybergate.com/~rsoppe/explor7.html ], the 18th Century English astronomer and navigator. Cook [ http://web.wwnorton.com/blurbs.cat/003680.htm ]'s voyages of discovery established new standards in scientific exploration and brought extensive knowledge of the unknown Pacific regions, including Australia, New Zealand, and the Hawaiian Island [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap951216.html ] archipelago to Europeans. NASA's four-orbiter Space Shuttle fleet [ http://www.amdahl.com/internet/events/shuttle.html ] will begin a new year of operation on January 11, with the planned launch [ http://www.ksc.nasa.gov/shuttle/missions/sts-72/countdown.html ] of the shuttle Endeavour (STS-72) [ http://www.ksc.nasa.gov/shuttle/missions/sts-72/mission-sts-72.html ]. Also named after one of Cook's ships, Endeavor [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap950807.html ] is the latest addition to the shuttle fleet [ http://seds.lpl.arizona.edu/ssa/space.shuttle/docs/homepage.html ]. |
|
Orbiting Repairmen
| Title |
Orbiting Repairmen |
| Explanation |
In December of 1993 astronauts Story Musgrave [ http://www.jsc.nasa.gov/Bios/htmlbios/musgrave.html ] and Jeffrey Hoffman [ http://www.jsc.nasa.gov/Bios/htmlbios/hoffman.html ] performed the orbiting repairmans' ballet 400 miles above the Earth. They are seen in this photo perched at the end of the Space Shuttle Endeavour [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap950807.html ]'s robotic arm making final repairs to the four story tall Hubble Space Telescope [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap950810.html ]. The coast line of western Australia is visible below. The complex and highly successful repair mission [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap951116.html ] allowed HST to see into the Universe with unprecedented clarity. |
|
Tanks for the Lift
| Title |
Tanks for the Lift |
| Explanation |
Sixteen minutes after the liftoff of STS-29, the Space Shuttle Discovery's [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap960101.html ] jettisoned External Tank (ET) [ http://www.ksc.nasa.gov/shuttle/technology/sts-newsref/et.html#et ] is seen here, in a photograph by shuttle astronaut James P. Bagian, falling back towards Earth. The 154 foot long ET is the largest non-reusable component in the Shuttle system [ http://seds.lpl.arizona.edu/ssa/space.shuttle/docs/homepage.html ]. After carrying over 500,000 gallons of liquid propellant [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap950916.html ] to feed the shuttle's main engines [ http://www.ksc.nasa.gov/shuttle/technology/sts-newsref/ sts-mps.html#sts-mps-ssme ] during liftoff, its ultimate fate is to re-enter the atmosphere, break up and descend into a remote ocean area. The side of this ET [ http://images.jsc.nasa.gov/images/pao/STS29/10063218.htm ] shows a normal burn scar caused during the separation of one of the reusable solid rocket boosters [ http://www.ksc.nasa.gov/shuttle/technology/sts-newsref/srb.html#srb ]. |
|
To Fly Free in Space
| Title |
To Fly Free in Space |
| Explanation |
What would it be like to fly free over the seas and clouds of Earth? The first to experience such an "untether [ http://www-istp.gsfc.nasa.gov/Education/wtether.html ]ed space walk [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap990801.html ]" were NASA astronauts [ http://www.jsc.nasa.gov/Bios/index.html ] Bruce McCandless [ http://www.jsc.nasa.gov/Bios/htmlbios/mccandless-b.html ] and Robert Stewart [ http://www.jsc.nasa.gov/Bios/htmlbios/stewart-rl.html ] during Space Shuttle [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap990411.html ] mission 41-B [ http://images.jsc.nasa.gov/iams/html/pao/STS41B.htm ] in 1984. McCandless, pictured above [ http://images.jsc.nasa.gov/images/pao/STS41B/10061758.htm ], used a Manned Maneuvering Unit [ http://www.astronautix.com/craft/shulemmu.htm ] (MMU) to move in and around the cargo bay of the space shuttle. The MMU [ http://galacticvoyager.com/pat/mmu/ ] works by shooting jets of nitrogen [ http://pearl1.lanl.gov/periodic/elements/7.html ] and has since been used to help deploy and retrieve satellites. With a mass over 140 kilograms, an MMU is heavy on Earth [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap010204.html ], but, like everything, is weightless in space. The MMU was replaced in 2001 with the SAFER [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap011002.html ] backpack propulsion unit. |
|
The Space Shuttle Docked wit
…
| Title |
The Space Shuttle Docked with Mir |
| Explanation |
Before there was the International Space Station [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap020423.html ], the reigning orbiting spaceport was Russia's Mir. Pictured above [ http://grin.hq.nasa.gov/ABSTRACTS/GPN-2000-001315.html ] in 1995, the United States Space Shuttle Atlantis [ http://science.ksc.nasa.gov/shuttle/resources/orbiters/atlantis.html ] docked with the segmented Mir [ http://www.cosmicimages.com/Mir/index.html ]. During shuttle mission STS-71 [ http://www-pao.ksc.nasa.gov/kscpao/shuttle/missions/sts-71/mission-sts-71.html ], astronauts answered questions from school students over amateur radio [ http://www.arrl.org/hamradio.html ] and performed science experiments [ http://www.sciserv.org/isef/ ] aboard Spacelab [ http://lsda.jsc.nasa.gov/sts71/sts71.stm ]. The Spacelab experiments helped to increase understanding of the effects of long-duration space flights [ http://astrobiology.arc.nasa.gov/news/expandnews.cfm?id=988 ] on the human body [ http://www.bbc.co.uk/science/humanbody/ ]. Last year, after 15 years of successful service, the decaying Mir space station [ http://www.russianspaceweb.com/mir_close_calls.html ] broke up as it entered [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap010323.html ] the Earth's atmosphere [ http://csep10.phys.utk.edu/astr161/lect/earth/atmosphere.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 ]. |
|
Southern Lights and Shuttle
…
| Title |
Southern Lights and Shuttle Glow |
| Explanation |
A background of distant stars, sinuous and spiky bands of Southern Lights (Aurora Australis) [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap951114.html ], and the faint glow of charged plasma (ionized atomic gas) surrounding the Space Shuttle Discovery's engines [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap960101.html ] give this photo from the STS-39 mission an eerie, otherworldly look. This image [ http://images.jsc.nasa.gov/images/pao/STS39/10064171.htm ] reflects Discovery's April 1991 mission well - its payload bay (PLB) was filled with instruments designed [ http://images.jsc.nasa.gov/images/pao/STS39/10064159.htm ] to study celestial objects, aurora and atmospheric phenomena, and the low Earth orbit environment around the PLB itself. The aurora [ http://www.geo.mtu.edu/weather/aurora/ ] seen here are at a height of about 50-80 miles and caused by charged particles in the solar wind [ http://www-spof.gsfc.nasa.gov/Education/Intro.html ], channeled through the van Allen Radiation Belts [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap960210.html ] which excite atoms of oxygen in the upper atmosphere. |
|
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 ]. |
|
Mir Dreams
| Title |
Mir Dreams |
| Explanation |
This dream [ http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/mir/day.html ]-like image of Mir [ http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/mir/tour.html ] was recorded by astronauts as the Space Shuttle Atlantis [ http://kids.msfc.nasa.gov/Rockets/ShuttleNames.asp ] approached the Russian space station prior to docking during the STS-76 mission. Sporting spindly appendages and solar panels, Mir resembles a whimsical flying insect hovering about 350 kilometers above New Zealand's [ http://www.rasnz.org.nz/index.htm ] South Island and the city of Nelson near Cook Strait [ http://www.south-pole.com/p0000071.htm ]. In late March 1996, Atlantis shuttled astronaut Shannon W. Lucid [ http://www.jsc.nasa.gov/Bios/htmlbios/lucid.html ] to Mir for a five month visit, increasing Mir's occupancy from 2 to 3. It returned to pick Lucid up and drop off astronaut John Blaha [ http://www.jsc.nasa.gov/Bios/htmlbios/blaha.html ] during the STS-79 mission [ http://www.ksc.nasa.gov/shuttle/missions/sts-79/mission-sts-79.html ] in August of that year. Since becoming operational in 1986, Mir has [ http://www.cosmicimages.com/Mir/index.html ] been visited by over 100 spacefarers from the nations of planet Earth including, Russia, the United States, Great Britain, Germany, France, Japan, Austria, Kazakhstan and Slovakia. After joint Shuttle-Mir [ http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/history/shuttle-mir/ ] training missions in support of the International Space Station [ http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/station/index.html ], continuous occupation of Mir ended in August 1999. The Mir was deorbited [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap010323.html ] in March 2001. |
|
Beefing Up the International
…
| Title |
Beefing Up the International Space Station |
| Explanation |
The International Space Station [ http://www.shuttlepresskit.com/ISS_OVR/index.htm ] (ISS) will be the largest human-made object ever to orbit [ http://hyperphysics.phy-astr.gsu.edu/hbase/orbv.html ] the Earth [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap010204.html ]. The station [ http://www.shuttlepresskit.com/ISS_OVR/orbit_assembly.htm ] is so large that it could not be launched [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap010723.html ] all at once -- it is being built piecemeal [ http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/gallery/images/station/assembly/ndxpage1.html ] with large sections added continually by flights of the Space Shuttle [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap990411.html ]. To function, the ISS needs trusses [ http://www.ksc.nasa.gov/kscdirect/archives/launch/sts110/iss-qa.htm ] to keep it rigid and to route electricity [ http://www.sciencemadesimple.com/static.html ] and liquid coolants. These trusses [ http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/station/assembly/elements/its/ ] are huge, extending over 15 meters long, and with masses over 10,000 kilograms. Pictured above [ http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/gallery/images/shuttle/sts-113/html/iss005e21771.html ] at the end of last month, astronaut [ http://liftoff.msfc.nasa.gov/academy/astronauts/wannabe.html ] Michael Lopez-Alegria [ http://www.jsc.nasa.gov/Bios/htmlbios/lopez-al.html ] works to install the Port-One Truss [ http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/station/assembly/flights/11a.html ]. On the right is the end of Canadarm2 [ http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/station/assembly/elements/mss/index.html ], the robotic remote control arm of the ISS [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap021208.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. |
|
Moonrise, Planet Earth
| Title |
Moonrise, Planet Earth |
| Explanation |
During the Astro-1 [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap960504.html ] astronomy mission of December, 1990, Space Shuttle [ http://shuttle.nasa.gov/index.html/ ] astronauts photographed this stunning [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap970509.html ] view of the full moon rising above the Earth's limb. In the foreground, towering clouds of condensing water vapor [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap961012.html ] mark the extent of the troposphere, the lowest layer of the planet's life-sustaining atmosphere [ http://www.ncar.ucar.edu/althome.html ]. Strongly scattering blue sunlight, the upper atmospheric layer, the stratosphere, fades dramatically to the black background of space. Moon [ http://cass.jsc.nasa.gov/moon.html ] and clouds are [ http://climate.gsfc.nasa.gov/~cahalan/FractalClouds/ Types/Types.htmd/TXT.html ] strong visual elements of many well known portraits of Planet Earth [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap970327.html ], including Ansel Adams' famous "Moonrise, Hernandez, New Mexico" [ http://silver.skiles.gatech.edu/idt/students/ anajarian/geneaology/adams.html ], photographed in November of 1941. |
|
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 ]. |
|
Venus On The Horizon
| Title |
Venus On The Horizon |
| Explanation |
The month of October [ http://www.skypub.com/whatsup/oct97sky.html ] features a sky full of planets, including Venus as the brilliant evening star. Besides the sun and moon, Venus is the brightest object [ http://www.seds.org/billa/nineplanets/venus.html ] visible in Earth's sky. This month, Venus appears in early evening near the red planet Mars [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap970528.html ] and Mars' red giant rival Antares [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap970922.html ] above the southwestern horizon. Because it is closer to the sun than Earth, Venus never strays far from the sun in its apparent position [ http://quasar.as.utexas.edu/courses/ast309/misc/DresdenCodex.html ] and is seen during the year as either a bright morning or evening star [ http://rowlf.cc.wwu.edu:8080/~skywise/legends.html#Evening Star ]. This beautiful sunset imaged from low earth orbit by the Atlantis space shuttle [ http://www.ksc.nasa.gov/shuttle/resources/orbiters/atlantis.html ] crew in May 1989 also reveals the planet Venus blazing above Earth's horizon. It is a fitting image [ http://images.jsc.nasa.gov/images/pao/STS30/10063311.htm ] for this mission and crew [ http://www.ksc.nasa.gov/shuttle/missions/sts-30/sts-30-press-kit.txt ]. It was recorded following the successful release of the robot Venus-explorer Magellan [ http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/planetary/magellan.html ], the first planetary probe to be deployed from a space shuttle. |
|
Earth's Richat Structure
| Title |
Earth's Richat Structure |
| Explanation |
What on Earth is that? The Richat Structure [ http://cass.jsc.nasa.gov/publications/slidesets/geology.html ] in the Sahara Desert [ http://somerset.qld.edu.au/student/10_CE/MINTZ%20David/d3.htm ] of Mauritania [ http://www.umr.edu/~ayahya/ ] is easily visible from space because it is nearly 50 kilometers across. Once thought to be an impact crater [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap971117.html ], the Richat Structure [ http://images.jsc.nasa.gov/images/pao/STS58/10083803.htm ]'s flat middle and lack of shock-altered rock indicates otherwise. The possibility that the Richat Structure [ http://images.jsc.nasa.gov/images/pao/GT4/10074021.htm ] was formed by a volcanic eruption [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap960805.html ] also seems improbable because of the lack of a dome of igneous [ http://jersey.uoregon.edu/~mstrick/AskGeoMan/geoQuerry14.html ] or volcanic rock. Rather, the layered sedimentary rock of the Richat structure [ http://www.jsc.nasa.gov/pao/media/rel/Past-News-Releases-93-94-95/93-088.DOC.html ] is now thought by many to have been caused by uplifted rock sculpted by erosion. Why the Richat Structure [ http://images.jsc.nasa.gov/images/pao/STS58/10083803.htm ] is nearly circular remains a mystery. |
|
Astronaut at Work
| Title |
Astronaut at Work |
| Explanation |
Did you ever have a day where everything got turned around and you just couldn't tell which way was up? Fortunately, this didn't happen to astronaut James S. Voss [ http://www.jsc.nasa.gov/Bios/htmlbios/voss-ji.html ] on 2000 May 21, who spent six hours preparing to fix and upgrade the International Space Station [ http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/station/assembly/index.html ]. Voss is shown above [ http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/gallery/images/shuttle/sts-101/html/s101e5074.html ] anchored in the clutches of Space Shuttle Atlantis [ http://science.ksc.nasa.gov/shuttle/resources/orbiters/atlantis.html ]' mechanical arm [ http://ffden-2.phys.uaf.edu/211.web.stuff/Adamczak/rms.htm ], maneuvering outside the shuttle's cargo bay high above planet Earth [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap010204.html ]. This space walk [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap990801.html ] was the 85th in US history and the fifth dedicated to the construction of the International Space Station [ http://spacelink.nasa.gov/NASA.Projects/Human.Exploration.and.Development.of.Space/Human.Space.Flight/International.Space.Station/.index.html ]. The STS-101 mission [ http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/spacenews/reports/sts101/STS-101-06.html ] returned after successfully replacing the station's batteries [ http://www.howstuffworks.com/battery.htm ], lifting the station into a higher orbit, and replenishing needed supplies. |
|
Southern Lights and Shuttle
…
| Title |
Southern Lights and Shuttle Glow |
| Explanation |
A background of distant stars, sinuous and spiky bands of Southern Lights (Aurora Australis) [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap970126.html ], and the faint glow of charged plasma (ionized atomic gas [ http://www-spof.gsfc.nasa.gov/Education/Ielect.html ]) surrounding the Space Shuttle Discovery's engines [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap960101.html ] give this photo from the STS-39 mission an eerie, otherworldly look. This image [ http://images.jsc.nasa.gov/images/pao/STS39/10064171.htm ] reflects Discovery's April 1991 mission well - its payload bay (PLB) was filled with instruments designed [ http://images.jsc.nasa.gov/images/pao/STS39/10064159.htm ] to study celestial objects, aurora and atmospheric phenomena, and the low Earth orbit environment around the PLB itself. The aurora [ http://www.geo.mtu.edu/weather/aurora/ ] seen here are at a height of about 50-80 miles. Aurora are caused by charged particles in the solar wind [ http://www-spof.gsfc.nasa.gov/Education/Intro.html ], channeled through the Earth's magnetic field [ http://www-spof.gsfc.nasa.gov/Education/Imagnet.html ] which excite molecules in the upper atmosphere. |
|
Shuttle Engine Blast
| Title |
Shuttle Engine Blast |
| Explanation |
The Space Shuttle Discovery [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap950808.html ]'s orbital maneuvering system (OMS) engine firing [ http://images.jsc.nasa.gov/images/pao/STS51I/10062237.htm ] produced this dramatic flare as it cruised "upside down" in low Earth orbit. Discovery [ http://www.ksc.nasa.gov/shuttle/resources/orbiters/discovery.html ] was named for a ship commanded by Captain James Cook RN [ http://www.south-pole.com/p0000071.htm ], the 18th Century English astronomer and navigator. Cook's voyages [ http://pacific.vita.org/pacific/cook/ ] of discovery [ http://www.floreyps.act.edu.au/classweb/4c/ccook03.htm ] established new standards in scientific exploration and brought extensive knowledge of the unknown Pacific regions, including Australia, New Zealand, and the Hawaiian Island [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap970302.html ] archipelago to Europeans. The Space Shuttle [ http://www.osf.hq.nasa.gov/shuttle ] Endeavor [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap950807.html ], also named after one of Cook's [ http://www.rochester.k12.mn.us/century/explorers/cook.html ] ships, is the most recent addition to NASA's four-orbiter shuttle fleet [ http://www.ksc.nasa.gov/shuttle/resources/orbiters/orbiters.html ]. |
|
Mir Above
| Title |
Mir Above |
| Explanation |
Photographed from [ http://shuttle-mir.nasa.gov/shuttle-mir/photos/sts89/ esc/Flightday09/ ] the approaching Space Shuttle Endeavour [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap961130.html ], the Mir space station floats above the clouds of planet Earth. Mir's modular construction [ http://www.hq.nasa.gov/osf/mir/ ], bristling with solar panels and antennas, lends it a slightly whimsical [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap960603.html ], insect-like appearance. Astronaut Andrew Thomas [ http://www.jsc.nasa.gov/Bios/htmlbios/thomas-a.html ] was dropped off at Mir by Endeavour in January and recently picked up by the Space Shuttle Discovery during STS-91 [ http://www.imoc.com/sts-91/ ], the ninth and last Mir docking mission. Thomas' 4 1/2 month stay culminates the shuttle-Mir program [ http://shuttle-mir.nasa.gov/shuttle-mir/ ] in which seven U.S. astronauts spent a total of 977 days with Russian crews on board Mir. The experience gained will be applied toward the construction [ http://station.nasa.gov/reference/factsheets/index.html#firstflights ] of the International Space Station [ http://station.nasa.gov/ ] scheduled to begin with launches in November and December 1998 [ http://station.nasa.gov/news/pressrel/ksc66-98.html ]. |
|
Space Walz
| Title |
Space Walz |
| Explanation |
Astronaut Carl Walz [ http://www.jsc.nasa.gov/Bios/htmlbios/walz.html ] waves at his colleagues from the aft end [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap961130.html ] of the Space Shuttle Discovery's [ http://shuttle.nasa.gov/index.html/ ] payload bay. During this 1993 spacewalk [ http://images.jsc.nasa.gov/images/pao/STS51/10073382.htm ], Walz evaluated tools, tethers, and a foot restraint designed for use in a weightless environment [ http://www.sciam.com/1998/0998issue/0998white.html ] while orbiting Planet Earth [ http://www.hq.nasa.gov/office/pao/History/40thann/40home.htm ]. |
|
Assembling The International
…
| Title |
Assembling The International Space Station |
| Explanation |
Batteries [ http://www.howstuffworks.com/battery.htm ] and solar panels were included with this version of the International Space Station (ISS) [ http://shuttle.nasa.gov/station/index.html ] but some assembly is still required [ http://shuttle.nasa.gov/station/assembly/index.html ]. On Saturday, December 5th, the STS-88 crew of the Space Shuttle Endeavor [ http://www.ksc.nasa.gov/shuttle/missions/sts-88/countdown.html ] achieved the in orbit docking [ http://shuttle.nasa.gov/medialibrary/images/shuttle/sts-88/ in-flight/day3/html/s88e5010.html ] of the Zarya [ http://shuttle.nasa.gov/station/assembly/elements/fgb/index.html ] and Unity [ http://shuttle.nasa.gov/station/assembly/elements/node1/index.html ] (foreground) ISS modules. On Monday, astronauts James Newman [ http://www.jsc.nasa.gov/Bios/htmlbios/newman.html ] (left) and Jerry Ross [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap951129.html ] continued the assembly procedures connecting power and data cables during the first of [ http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/medialibrary/images/shuttle/sts-88/ in-flight/day5/html/s88e5059.html ] three planned spacewalks. Ground controllers were then able to successfully activate the ISS. Now orbiting planet Earth at an altitude of about 248 miles, Endeavour [ http://www.ksc.nasa.gov/shuttle/resources/orbiters/endeavour.html ] and the ISS [ http://station.nasa.gov/station/reference/index.html ] are reported to be in excellent shape and crew members plan to enter the new space station today. Five Americans, one Russian [ http://shuttle.nasa.gov/shuttle/crew/index.html ], and the Unity module itself were lifted into orbit by the shuttle on Friday, December 4, while the Zarya (sunrise) module was launched on a Proton rocket from the Baikonur Cosmodrome [ http://station.nasa.gov/station/assembly/elements/fgb/baikonur.html ] in Kazakstan on November 20. |
|
To Fly Free in Space
| Title |
To Fly Free in Space |
| Explanation |
At about 100 meters from the cargo bay of the space shuttle Challenger, Bruce McCandless II was further out than anyone had ever been before. Guided by a Manned Maneuvering Unit [ http://www.astronautix.com/craft/shulemmu.htm ] (MMU), astronaut McCandless, pictured above [ http://grin.hq.nasa.gov/ABSTRACTS/GPN-2000-001087.html ], was floating free in space. McCandless [ http://www.jsc.nasa.gov/Bios/htmlbios/mccandless-b.html ] and fellow NASA astronaut [ http://www.jsc.nasa.gov/Bios/index.html ] Robert Stewart [ http://www.jsc.nasa.gov/Bios/htmlbios/stewart-rl.html ] were the first to experience such an "untether [ http://www-istp.gsfc.nasa.gov/Education/wtether.html ]ed space walk [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap990801.html ]" during Space Shuttle [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap990411.html ] mission 41-B [ http://www-pao.ksc.nasa.gov/kscpao/chron/sts41-b.htm ] in 1984 [ http://www.online-literature.com/orwell/1984/ ]. The MMU [ http://galacticvoyager.com/pat/mmu/ ] works by shooting jets of nitrogen [ http://pearl1.lanl.gov/periodic/elements/7.html ] and has since been used to help deploy and retrieve satellites. With a mass over 140 kilograms, an MMU is heavy on Earth [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap050102.html ], but, like everything, is weightless when drifting in orbit. The MMU was replaced with the SAFER [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap011002.html ] backpack propulsion unit. |
|
Spiral Eddies On Planet Eart
…
| Title |
Spiral Eddies On Planet Earth |
| Explanation |
Can you identify this wispy stellar nebula [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap960816.html ]? How many light-years from Earth [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap970828.html ] did you say? Resembling a twisting cloud [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap970123.html ] of gas and dust between the stars this swirling form is actually close by - a spiral eddy formed near the North Atlantic Gulf Stream off the East coast of the U. S. Tens of miles across, spiral eddies are an ocean current phenomenon [ http://daac.gsfc.nasa.gov/CAMPAIGN_DOCS/OCDST/ shuttle_oceanography_web/oss_134.html ] discovered by observations from manned spacecraft [ http://daac.gsfc.nasa.gov/CAMPAIGN_DOCS/OCDST/ shuttle_oceanography_web/oss_cover.html ]. Imaged by [ http://images.jsc.nasa.gov/iams/images/earth/STS41G/ html/10044055.htm ] the Challenger [ http://www.ksc.nasa.gov/shuttle/resources/orbiters/challenger.html ] space shuttle crew during the STS 41G [ http://www.ksc.nasa.gov/shuttle/missions/41-g/ mission-41-g.html#highlights ] mission this eddie is dramatically visible [ http://daac.gsfc.nasa.gov/CAMPAIGN_DOCS/OCDST/ shuttle_oceanography_web/oss_170.html ] due to the low sun angle and strong reflection of sunlight. The reflection is caused by a very thin biologically produced [ http://daac.gsfc.nasa.gov/CAMPAIGN_DOCS/OCDST/ OB_main.html ] oily film on the surface of the swirling water. Prior to STS 41G these eddies were thought to be rare but are now understood to be a significant dynamic feature of ocean currents. However, no good explanation of their origin or persistence exists. |
|
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 ]. |
|
Aurora and Orion
| Title |
Aurora and Orion |
| Explanation |
Looking toward the south [ http://images.jsc.nasa.gov/images/pao/STS59/20137412.htm ] from low Earth orbit, the crew of the Space Shuttle Endeavor [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap950807.html ] made this stunning time exposure of the Aurora Australis [ http://www.vision.net.au/~peter/AST/aurora/aurora.html ] or southern lights in April of 1994. Aurora are visible [ http://www.geo.mtu.edu/weather/aurora/ ] at high northern latitudes [ http://dac3.pfrr.alaska.edu:80/~pfrr/AURORA/PREDICT/CURRENT.HTM ] as well, with the northern lights known as Aurora Borealis [ http://wwwssl.msfc.nasa.gov/newhome/headlines/ast16oct98_1.htm ]. They are caused by high energy electrons from the Solar Wind [ http://www-spof.gsfc.nasa.gov/Education/wsolwind.html ] which are funneled into the atmosphere near the poles by the Earth's magnetic field [ http://www-spof.gsfc.nasa.gov/Education/Intro.html ]. The reddish colors occur at the highest altitudes (about 200 miles) where the air is least dense. At lower altitudes and greater densities green tends to dominate ranging to a pinkish glow at the lowest. The familiar constellation [ http://www.mtwilson.edu/Education/ConQuiz/ ] of Orion the Hunter [ http://astro.caltech.edu/~bbb/paper/star.splitter.html ] is clearly visible above the dark horizon in the background. Because of the shuttle's orbital motion, the bright stars in Orion appear slightly elongated. |
|
A Shuttle Back Flip at the S
…
| Title |
A Shuttle Back Flip at the Space Station |
| Explanation |
Last week, crew members of the International Space Station [ http://www.shuttlepresskit.com/ISS_OVR/ ] (ISS) watched carefully as the Space Shuttle [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap990411.html ] Discovery [ http://science.ksc.nasa.gov/shuttle/resources/orbiters/discovery.html ] did a planned but unusual back flip upon approach. Discovery Commander Eileen Collins [ http://www.jsc.nasa.gov/Bios/htmlbios/collins.html ] guided the shuttle through the flip, which was about 200 meters from the ISS [ http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/main/index.html ] when the above picture [ http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/gallery/images/station/crew-11/html/iss011e 11074.html ] was taken. The ISS crew [ http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/expeditions/expedition11/index.html ] took detailed images of the dark heat shield tiles [ http://liftoff.msfc.nasa.gov/Shuttle/About/therm.html ] underneath during a 90-second photo shoot. The images are being analyzed to assess the condition of the dark heat shield [ http://www-pao.ksc.nasa.gov/kscpao/nasafact/tps.htm ]. Later the shuttle docked [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap021020.html ] with the space station. On the more usually photographed top side of the Space Shuttle, the above image [ http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/gallery/images/station/crew-11/html/iss011e11074.html ] shows Discovery's cargo bay doors open toward a distant Earth below. |
|
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 ]. |
|
Drawing of STS-34 SSBUV orbi
…
| Title |
Drawing of STS-34 SSBUV orbiter interface and command and status monitoring |
| Description |
Line drawing titled SSBUV ORBITER INTERFACE FOR COMMAND AND STATUS MONITORING shows how the shuttle solar backscatter ultraviolet (UV) (SSBUV) will be operated by crewmembers on the aft flight deck using a autonomous payload controller (APC). SSBUV instrument will calibrate ozone measuring space-based instruments on the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's (NOAA's) TIROS satellites NOAA-9 and NOAA-11. During STS-34, SSBUV instruments mounted in get away special (GAS) canisters in Atlantis', Orbiter Vehicle (OV) 104's, payload bay will use the Space Shuttle's orbital flight path to assess instrument performance by directly comparing data from identical instruments aboard the TIROS satellite, as OV-104 and the satellite pass over the same Earth location within a one-hour window. SSBUV is managed by NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC). |
| Date Taken |
1989-09-11 |
|
Artist concept of STS-34 SSB
…
| Title |
Artist concept of STS-34 SSBUV in orbit calibration |
| Description |
Artist concept titled SSBUV IN ORBIT CALIBRATION shows how the shuttle solar backscatter ultraviolet (UV) (SSBUV) instrument will calibrate ozone measuring space-based instruments on the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's (NOAA's) TIROS satellites NOAA-9 and NOAA-11. During STS-34, SSBUV instruments mounted in get away special (GAS) canisters in Atlantis', Orbiter Vehicle (OV) 104's, payload bay will use the Space Shuttle's orbital flight path to assess instrument performance by directly comparing data from identical instruments aboard the TIROS satellite, as OV-104 and the satellite pass over the same Earth location within a one-hour window. SSBUV is managed by NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC). Alternate number on image is E66.001. |
| Date Taken |
1989-09-11 |
|
STS-34 Shuttle Solar Backsca
…
| Title |
STS-34 Shuttle Solar Backscatter UV (SSBUV) get away special (GAS) canisters |
| Description |
Shuttle Solar Backscatter Ultraviolet (UV) (SSBUV) get away special (GAS) canisters are mounted on a GAS adapter beam assembly (GABA) or gas bridge assembly (GBA) on the starboard wall of Atlantis', Orbiter Vehicle (OV) 104's, payload bay (PLB). The GAS canister on the left has a motorized door assembly (MDA). During STS-34, SSBUV instrument will calibrate similar ozone measuring space-based instruments on the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's (NOAA's) TIROS satellites (NOAA-9 and NOAA-11). SSBUV uses the Space Shuttle's orbital flight path to assess instrument performance by directly comparing data from identical instruments aboard TIROS spacecraft, as the Shuttle and the satellite pass over the same Earth location within a one hour window. SSBUV is managed by Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC). SSBUV insignia are printed on the GAS thermal blanket coverings. |
| Date Taken |
1989-09-11 |
|
|
