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Showing posts with label iss. Show all posts

Sunday, September 18, 2011 ~ Have your say...

Flying Over Planet Earth: as seen from the ISS (video)

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Below is a an incredible time-lapse taken from the front of the International Space Station as it orbits our planet Earth at night. 

According to the creator, on his YouTube channel, "this movie begins over the Pacific Ocean and continues over North and South America before entering daylight near Antarctica. Visible cities, countries and landmarks include (in order) Vancouver Island, Victoria, Vancouver, Seattle, Portland, San Fransisco, Los Angeles. Phoenix. Multiple cities in Texas, New Mexico and Mexico. Mexico City, the Gulf of Mexico, the Yucatan Peninsula, Lightning in the Pacific Ocean, Guatemala, Panama, Columbia, Ecuador, Peru, Chile, and the Amazon. 

Also visible is the earths ionosphere (thin yellow line) and the stars of our galaxy. Raw data was downloaded from The Gateway To Astronaut Photography of Earth "http://eol.jsc.nasa.gov/sseop/mrf.htm "."

Thursday, July 7, 2011 ~ Have your say...

First iPhones in Space: Final Shuttle Astronauts to Deliver $1 App

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This news item, courtesy of Mashable, got my attention because it is oh-so-very-cool.  "The final, much-delayed mission of Space Shuttle Atlantis, which has a 30% chance of lifting off this Friday, will be carrying with it the planet’s first astro-phones — a pair of Apple iPhone 4s, ready for a first-of-its-kind experiment aboard the International Space Station, using a $1 app.


The app, SpaceLab for iOS, uses the iPhone 4′s in-built three-axis gyroscope to replace far more expensive custom-built equipment. It will measure altitude, the curvature of the Earth, and locate itself by looking for recognizable coastline via the iPhone camera. (Astronauts aboard the ISS will be taking the snapshots...)"


From the iTunes description... "The primary purpose of these experiments is to collect data for future flights, to improve the sensor accuracy and precision, and to demonstrate some of the basic capabilities intrinsic to iPhone but uniquely applied to the Low Earth Orbit (LEO) space environment."


Once the experiment and iPhones are returned to Earth and analyzed, it will be made available to users as part of a new release."


You can pick up the app here.  Remarkable, I still haven't jumped on to the iPhone bandwagon... I have to resort to my second generation iPod Touch.

Tuesday, May 24, 2011 ~ Have your say...

Shuttle Endeavor Photographed While Docked to the ISS

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The Endeavor shuttle is on its last mission for the NASA space program – a sad moment for astronomers and space enthusiasts. But on this final mission, Endeavor has made a first in space history: it’s the first shuttle to be photographed from another space vehicle while docked to the International Space Station (ISS). The photo (below) was taken from the Soyuz TMA-20 spacecraft, 600 meters from the ISS as the crew backed off.

One can only imagine the complexities of docking a space shuttle to a space station without error.  In the photo, you can see the shuttle tilted backwards, docked to the left of the ISS.


In 1995, shuttle Atlantis was photographed while docked to the Russian Mir Space Station, resulting in one of the most iconic images ever taken during the space program (below). 


I look forward to the future of the space program, as we enter into the private realm over the next few years. 

 Image credit: NASA, Roscosmos, NASA TV

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