Shuttle Reentry Streak from Orbit
Explanation:
What's that strange bright streak?
It is the
last image ever of a
space shuttle from orbit.
A week and a half ago, after decoupling from the
International Space Station, the
Space Shuttle Atlantis fired its rockets for the last time, lost its orbital
speed, and plummeted back to Earth.
Within the next hour, however, the sophisticated space machine dropped its landing
gear and did what used to be unprecedented --
landed like an airplane on a runway.
Although the future of human space flight from the
USA will enter a temporary lull, many robotic spacecraft continue to explore
our Solar System and peer into our universe, including
Cassini,
Chandra,
Chang'e 2,
Dawn,
Fermi,
Hubble,
Kepler,
LRO,
Mars Express,
Messenger,
MRO,
New Horizons,
Opportunity,
Planck,
Rosetta,
SDO,
SOHO,
Spitzer,
STEREO,
Swift,
Venus-Express, and
WISE.
Authors & editors:
Robert Nemiroff
(MTU) &
Jerry Bonnell
(USRA)
NASA Web Site Statements, Warnings,
and Disclaimers
NASA Official: Jay Norris.
Specific
rights apply.
A service of:
LHEA at
NASA /
GSFC
& Michigan Tech. U.
