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Credit & Copyright: Expedition
22 Crew,
NASA
Explanation:
What's that approaching?
Astronauts on board the
International Space Station
first saw it far in the distance.
Soon it enlarged to become a
dark silhouette.
As it came even closer, the
silhouette appeared to be a spaceship.
Finally, at just past 11 pm
(CST) last Tuesday, the object, revealed to be the
Space Shuttle Endeavor, docked as expected with the
Earth-orbiting space station.
Pictured
above, Endeavor was imaged near Earth's horizon as it approached, where several
layers of the
Earth's atmosphere were visible.
Directly behind the shuttle is the
mesosphere, which appears blue.
The atmospheric layer that appears white is the
stratosphere,
while the orange layer is Earth's
Troposphere.
This shuttle mission, which began with a
dramatic night launch
and will continue into next week, has many tasks planned.
These tasks include the delivery of the
Tranquility Module which includes a
cupola bay window complex
that may allow even better views of spaceships approaching and leaving the space
station.
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NASA Web Site Statements, Warnings, and Disclaimers
NASA Official: Jay Norris. Specific rights apply.
A service of: LHEA at NASA / GSFC
& Michigan Tech. U.
Based on Astronomy Picture
Of the Day
Publications with keywords: space shuttle Endeavour
Publications with words: space shuttle Endeavour
See also: