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Credit: STS-126 Shuttle Crew,
NASA
Explanation:
Where's the astronaut?
Somewhere in this impressive array of
International Space Station (ISS) hardware, astronaut
Steve Bowen can be found upgrading and cleaning key parts of
Earth's most prominent orbital outpost.
Astronaut Bowen and
Heidemarie Stefanyshyn-Piper (not pictured), part of the
Space Shuttle Endeavour's recently ended STS-126 mission to the ISS,
spent nearly three hours on this spacewalk
hovering high above planet Earth.
Bowen progressed toward achieving a key goal of
the mission --
servicing of the Solar Alpha Rotary Joints to better allow some solar arrays to track the Sun.
In the lower foreground of the
above image is the cylindrical
Columbus Laboratory,
protruding from the right is an impressively large
space station truss, while in the background are some of the expansive solar
arrays that collect sunlight to power the
ISS.
Far in the distance, a blue arc of
Earth's thin atmosphere is visible on the horizon.
The next space shuttle flight is
scheduled for 2009 February, when
Discovery
will deliver elements to further
expand the ISS.
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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: ISS
Publications with words: ISS
See also: