Approach above Sunset
Explanation:
There it is!
The Cygnus supply ship was a welcome sight to the astronauts on the
International Space Station just over a week ago.
Launched three days before
on a
United Launch Alliance
Atlas V from
Cape Canaveral, Florida, the
Orbital ATK's
Cygnus spacecraft
approached the
International Space Station above the backdrop of a picturesque planet Earth.
The Sun was setting off
the
image to the upper left, illuminating clouds well below the approaching vehicle.
The robotic
Cygnus spacecraft
was captured first on camera and
later with the space station's
Canadarm2
by ESA's Flight Engineer
Thomas Pesquet and NASA's
Expedition-51 Commander
Peggy Whitson.
Commander
Whitson, a
biochemist, has now set a
new
American record for the most total days in space.
Besides essentials, the Cygnus carried equipment to bolster over 200
science
experiments
being conducted on the football-field sized
Earth-orbiting outpost.
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.
