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Space Shuttle and Space Station Photographed Together

146 points by otoolep 12y ago

roadnottaken 12y ago
WHO'S TAKING THAT PICTURE??
- aaronbrethorst 12y ago
  [D]uring the Space Shuttle Endeavour's last trip to the International Space Station in 2011 May, a supply ship departed the station with astronauts that captured a series of rare views. The supply ship was the Russian Soyuz TMA-20 which landed in Kazakhstan later that day.
- deleted 12y ago
  [deleted]
comrh 12y ago
http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/gallery/images/station/crew-27/inflight/ndxpage42.html http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/gallery/images/station/crew-27/i... http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/gallery/images/station/crew-27/inflight/ndxpage42.html http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/gallery/images/station/crew-27/i... http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/gallery/images/station/crew-27/inflight/ndxpage43.html http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/gallery/images/station/crew-27/i... for more of them both. Some great shots.
ceejayoz 12y ago
Not just the Shuttle, but a Soyuz and a European ATV. Every significant spacecraft model at the time in one photo.
- jackgavigan 12y ago
  Looks like two Soyuz... Edit: Actually, one Soyuz (TMA-21 on Poisk) and a Progress (M-10M on Pirs). The ATV is the Johannes Kepler.
  - ceejayoz 12y ago
    I'd forgotten Progress, even better!
  - bane 12y ago
    And the picture is taken from another Soyuz.
- hcarvalhoalves 12y ago
  Pretty crowded. How many people are up there in this pic? The 2x Soyuz (counting the one taking the pic) fit 3 each, the Space Shuttle fits 5-7, Progress and ATV are unmaned. Anyone knows how many in the ISS?
otoolep 12y ago
All amazing engineering achievements, and yet such white elephants in so many ways. The Mars Rovers and Space probes have been so much more valuable for science.
- tdicola 12y ago
  I wouldn't write off the shuttle so quickly. It flew 100+ missions, brought up the Hubble and helped fix it, brought up parts of the ISS, etc. Sure it didn't get past low earth orbit but it did a lot of great stuff.
  - otoolep 12y ago
    Bringing up parts to the ISS doesn't count. It's done even less for science than the Shuttle. :-) Richard Feynman expressed great scepticism about the Shuttle, and its scientific value. In his books he writes how he never came across a single scientific paper that referenced it -- check out the chapter titled "Committing Suicide" of "What do you care what other people think?".
    - NickPollard 12y ago
      The shuttle is a tool. If you're growing crystals in space or trying to measure gravity waves, you don't mention the spacecraft, but you have to get the experimental equipment up there some how or you can't do it. Note: Not saying the Shuttle was the most suitable solution, but I think that 'it was never referenced in papers' is not a useful fact.
      - otoolep 12y ago
        No way. Anyone -- anyone -- who wrote a paper based on experimental data retrieved on the Shuttle would absolutely list the Shuttle, the flight, and the date. Basing research on data gathered in zero-gravity (technically micro-gravity freefall) environment would be so exceptional that the specific spacecraft would have to be listed. It would be like publishing a particle physics paper using data gathered at the LHC and not mentioning that you got the data from the LHC.
otoolep 12y ago
Be sure to check out the full pic at http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/image/1408/shuttleiss_nasa_6048.jpg http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/image/1408/shuttleiss_nasa_6048.jp...
- ape4 12y ago
  Wow
- rbanffy 12y ago
  I used one of this series as my wallpaper for quite some time after its initial release. It's useful to remember humans can do extraordinary things.
- darklrd 12y ago
  This is amazing.
teleclimber 12y ago
This reminds me of an experience I had in Joshua Tree one evening. The sun had just set and it was getting dark. I noticed two bright dots in the sky in close proximity to each-other. At first I thought "airliners", but had to rethink my hasty conclusion because the lights weren't blinking. I had to stop walking to really take in the scene: two very bright white dots in the eastern sky, about one closed fist at arm's length away from each other, moving across the sky slowly but consistently. Having observed ISS before I knew how bright it could be. This certainly seemed like another ISS sighting, but what was the other thing? Then I remembered: the shuttle had launched not too long ago for a mission to ISS. Could I have just witness the moments after undocking? I checked NASA's data as soon as I got home and sure enough the undocking time was just prior to my observation. This was among the last shuttle missions so I'll never forget that moment!
tdicola 12y ago
The thing that impresses me the most about the shuttle is that it was designed in the mid 60's, built in the 70's/80's, and flew 100+ missions to space over ~30 years. I have a car that was built in the mid-80's and barely trust driving it a few thousand miles a year without it breaking down. I can't imagine what it took to keep the shuttles flying to space for so long without more major accidents.
- otoolep 12y ago
  Well, your car cost a few thousand dollars. The shuttle cost a lot more. :-) I don't think it's a fair comparison.
- dlhavema 12y ago
  i'm guessing these shuttles got routine maintenance (your car probably did too.. ) but also heavy inspections before and after every trip. We can make things last, it just takes a lot of effort and/or generally a lot of money..
  - Sharlin 12y ago
    The shuttles required months of maintenance work after each trip, including stripping out and completely disassembling the main engines, plus painstaking inspection and potential replacement of each and every heat shield tile.
- FigBug 12y ago
  There were six shuttles and had 25, 28, 10, 39, 33 & 0 missions each for a total of 135 missions and killed 14 astronauts. Not that impressive a record for something that was originally intended to do 55 launches a year. Something I find more impressive is the B52 Bomber, first flew in 1952, finished production in 1962, expected to be in service until 2040. Will be in service for almost 100 years. If like an aircraft, you were doing 1 hour of maintenance for every 10 - 20 hours driving, I'm sure your car would be more reliable.
  - idlewords 12y ago
leeoniya 12y ago
wow those solar panels are huge.
mutagen 12y ago
The damaged S1 cooling panel lends it an authentic, lived in, this thing is here to stay look. http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/gallery/images/station/crew-27/hires/iss027e036630.jpg http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/gallery/images/station/crew-27/h... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Space_Station_maintenance#2009_.E2.80.93_Potential_ammonia_leak_from_S1_radiator_due_to_damaged_panel https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Space_Station_ma...
mendort 12y ago
Man, the shuttle's cargo bay was rediculously huge. Lofting that whole volume for a routine iss resupply seems insanely wasteful. (I know that it is expensive to loft mass, not volume. But in this case it is volume that needed to be enclosed in a shell that could survive reentry.)
tempestn 12y ago
Immediately wanted to use this for my wallpaper, but was hoping I could find a better multi-monitor version. It still looks cool if you just center it, but it would be even better if the earth weren't cut off. Couldn't find one, so decided to make it. I basically rotated and cropped it to get as much of ISS as possible, then added a bit more Earth. This way it looks like the planet is naturally just falling below the horizon of your monitors, rather than being cut off. Fortunately the space background is a nice deep black, so that's easy to extend. If anyone else is running (2560x1440) x 3, feel free to use it: http://www.helpertubes.com/images/iss_shuttle_7680x1440.jpg http://www.helpertubes.com/images/iss_shuttle_7680x1440.jpg Or if you prefer, this version crops the top solar panels of ISS, so you get a closer view, and less artificially generated Earth: http://www.helpertubes.com/images/iss_shuttle_7680x1440_close.jpg http://www.helpertubes.com/images/iss_shuttle_7680x1440_clos... Enjoy!
- tempestn 12y ago
  Here are a couple more: 7680x1600 version: http://www.helpertubes.com/images/iss_shuttle_7680x1600.jpg http://www.helpertubes.com/images/iss_shuttle_7680x1600.jpg 9516x2320 source: http://www.helpertubes.com/images/iss_shuttle_9516x2320.jpg http://www.helpertubes.com/images/iss_shuttle_9516x2320.jpg
SpaceInvader 12y ago
And few pics of the ISS + other space crafts taken from Earth: http://www.astrokraai.nl/viewimages.php?category=9 http://www.astrokraai.nl/viewimages.php?category=9
netman21 12y ago
Has anyone ever created a virtual walk through of the ISS? Like every real estate web site does for their listings? Google????
- leephillips 12y ago
  I don't know, but this is probably better: http://www.wimp.com/orbitaltour/ http://www.wimp.com/orbitaltour/ This is astronaut Sunita Williams providing an extensive video tour of the ISS. Gives you a feel for what life is like up there. For example: they need to take care that the use of the stationary exercise bike doesn't set up vibrations that shake the exterior solar panel arrays.
  - peddamat 12y ago
    Watched every minute of that, thanks for posting!
rwmj 12y ago
Is the Canadarm inspecting the bottom/tiles on the Shuttle? If not, then it's dangerously close to them ..

146 points by otoolep 12y ago

roadnottaken 12y ago

WHO'S TAKING THAT PICTURE??

aaronbrethorst 12y ago
[D]uring the Space Shuttle Endeavour's last trip to the International Space Station in 2011 May, a supply ship departed the station with astronauts that captured a series of rare views. The supply ship was the Russian Soyuz TMA-20 which landed in Kazakhstan later that day.
deleted 12y ago
[deleted]

comrh 12y ago

http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/gallery/images/station/crew-27/inflight/ndxpage42.html http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/gallery/images/station/crew-27/i... http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/gallery/images/station/crew-27/inflight/ndxpage42.html http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/gallery/images/station/crew-27/i... http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/gallery/images/station/crew-27/inflight/ndxpage43.html http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/gallery/images/station/crew-27/i... for more of them both. Some great shots.

ceejayoz 12y ago

Not just the Shuttle, but a Soyuz and a European ATV. Every significant spacecraft model at the time in one photo.

jackgavigan 12y ago
Looks like two Soyuz... Edit: Actually, one Soyuz (TMA-21 on Poisk) and a Progress (M-10M on Pirs). The ATV is the Johannes Kepler.
- ceejayoz 12y ago
  I'd forgotten Progress, even better!
- bane 12y ago
  And the picture is taken from another Soyuz.
hcarvalhoalves 12y ago
Pretty crowded. How many people are up there in this pic? The 2x Soyuz (counting the one taking the pic) fit 3 each, the Space Shuttle fits 5-7, Progress and ATV are unmaned. Anyone knows how many in the ISS?

otoolep 12y ago

All amazing engineering achievements, and yet such white elephants in so many ways. The Mars Rovers and Space probes have been so much more valuable for science.

tdicola 12y ago
I wouldn't write off the shuttle so quickly. It flew 100+ missions, brought up the Hubble and helped fix it, brought up parts of the ISS, etc. Sure it didn't get past low earth orbit but it did a lot of great stuff.
- otoolep 12y ago
  Bringing up parts to the ISS doesn't count. It's done even less for science than the Shuttle. :-) Richard Feynman expressed great scepticism about the Shuttle, and its scientific value. In his books he writes how he never came across a single scientific paper that referenced it -- check out the chapter titled "Committing Suicide" of "What do you care what other people think?".
  - NickPollard 12y ago
    The shuttle is a tool. If you're growing crystals in space or trying to measure gravity waves, you don't mention the spacecraft, but you have to get the experimental equipment up there some how or you can't do it. Note: Not saying the Shuttle was the most suitable solution, but I think that 'it was never referenced in papers' is not a useful fact.
    - otoolep 12y ago
      No way. Anyone -- anyone -- who wrote a paper based on experimental data retrieved on the Shuttle would absolutely list the Shuttle, the flight, and the date. Basing research on data gathered in zero-gravity (technically micro-gravity freefall) environment would be so exceptional that the specific spacecraft would have to be listed. It would be like publishing a particle physics paper using data gathered at the LHC and not mentioning that you got the data from the LHC.

otoolep 12y ago

Be sure to check out the full pic at http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/image/1408/shuttleiss_nasa_6048.jpg http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/image/1408/shuttleiss_nasa_6048.jp...

ape4 12y ago
Wow
rbanffy 12y ago
I used one of this series as my wallpaper for quite some time after its initial release. It's useful to remember humans can do extraordinary things.
darklrd 12y ago
This is amazing.

teleclimber 12y ago

This reminds me of an experience I had in Joshua Tree one evening. The sun had just set and it was getting dark. I noticed two bright dots in the sky in close proximity to each-other. At first I thought "airliners", but had to rethink my hasty conclusion because the lights weren't blinking. I had to stop walking to really take in the scene: two very bright white dots in the eastern sky, about one closed fist at arm's length away from each other, moving across the sky slowly but consistently. Having observed ISS before I knew how bright it could be. This certainly seemed like another ISS sighting, but what was the other thing? Then I remembered: the shuttle had launched not too long ago for a mission to ISS. Could I have just witness the moments after undocking? I checked NASA's data as soon as I got home and sure enough the undocking time was just prior to my observation. This was among the last shuttle missions so I'll never forget that moment!

tdicola 12y ago

The thing that impresses me the most about the shuttle is that it was designed in the mid 60's, built in the 70's/80's, and flew 100+ missions to space over ~30 years. I have a car that was built in the mid-80's and barely trust driving it a few thousand miles a year without it breaking down. I can't imagine what it took to keep the shuttles flying to space for so long without more major accidents.

otoolep 12y ago
Well, your car cost a few thousand dollars. The shuttle cost a lot more. :-) I don't think it's a fair comparison.
dlhavema 12y ago
i'm guessing these shuttles got routine maintenance (your car probably did too.. ) but also heavy inspections before and after every trip. We can make things last, it just takes a lot of effort and/or generally a lot of money..
- Sharlin 12y ago
  The shuttles required months of maintenance work after each trip, including stripping out and completely disassembling the main engines, plus painstaking inspection and potential replacement of each and every heat shield tile.
FigBug 12y ago
There were six shuttles and had 25, 28, 10, 39, 33 & 0 missions each for a total of 135 missions and killed 14 astronauts. Not that impressive a record for something that was originally intended to do 55 launches a year. Something I find more impressive is the B52 Bomber, first flew in 1952, finished production in 1962, expected to be in service until 2040. Will be in service for almost 100 years. If like an aircraft, you were doing 1 hour of maintenance for every 10 - 20 hours driving, I'm sure your car would be more reliable.
- idlewords 12y ago

leeoniya 12y ago

wow those solar panels are huge.

mutagen 12y ago

The damaged S1 cooling panel lends it an authentic, lived in, this thing is here to stay look. http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/gallery/images/station/crew-27/hires/iss027e036630.jpg http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/gallery/images/station/crew-27/h... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Space_Station_maintenance#2009_.E2.80.93_Potential_ammonia_leak_from_S1_radiator_due_to_damaged_panel https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Space_Station_ma...

mendort 12y ago

Man, the shuttle's cargo bay was rediculously huge. Lofting that whole volume for a routine iss resupply seems insanely wasteful. (I know that it is expensive to loft mass, not volume. But in this case it is volume that needed to be enclosed in a shell that could survive reentry.)

tempestn 12y ago

Immediately wanted to use this for my wallpaper, but was hoping I could find a better multi-monitor version. It still looks cool if you just center it, but it would be even better if the earth weren't cut off. Couldn't find one, so decided to make it. I basically rotated and cropped it to get as much of ISS as possible, then added a bit more Earth. This way it looks like the planet is naturally just falling below the horizon of your monitors, rather than being cut off. Fortunately the space background is a nice deep black, so that's easy to extend. If anyone else is running (2560x1440) x 3, feel free to use it: http://www.helpertubes.com/images/iss_shuttle_7680x1440.jpg http://www.helpertubes.com/images/iss_shuttle_7680x1440.jpg Or if you prefer, this version crops the top solar panels of ISS, so you get a closer view, and less artificially generated Earth: http://www.helpertubes.com/images/iss_shuttle_7680x1440_close.jpg http://www.helpertubes.com/images/iss_shuttle_7680x1440_clos... Enjoy!

tempestn 12y ago
Here are a couple more: 7680x1600 version: http://www.helpertubes.com/images/iss_shuttle_7680x1600.jpg http://www.helpertubes.com/images/iss_shuttle_7680x1600.jpg 9516x2320 source: http://www.helpertubes.com/images/iss_shuttle_9516x2320.jpg http://www.helpertubes.com/images/iss_shuttle_9516x2320.jpg

SpaceInvader 12y ago

And few pics of the ISS + other space crafts taken from Earth: http://www.astrokraai.nl/viewimages.php?category=9 http://www.astrokraai.nl/viewimages.php?category=9

netman21 12y ago

Has anyone ever created a virtual walk through of the ISS? Like every real estate web site does for their listings? Google????

leephillips 12y ago
I don't know, but this is probably better: http://www.wimp.com/orbitaltour/ http://www.wimp.com/orbitaltour/ This is astronaut Sunita Williams providing an extensive video tour of the ISS. Gives you a feel for what life is like up there. For example: they need to take care that the use of the stationary exercise bike doesn't set up vibrations that shake the exterior solar panel arrays.
- peddamat 12y ago
  Watched every minute of that, thanks for posting!

rwmj 12y ago

Is the Canadarm inspecting the bottom/tiles on the Shuttle? If not, then it's dangerously close to them ..