Looking Down on Saturn
17.07.1996

This picture of Saturn could not have been taken from Earth. No Earth based picture could possibly view the night side of Saturn and the corresponding shadow cast across Saturn's rings. Since Earth is much closer to the Sun than Saturn, only the day side of the planet is visible from the Earth.

Saturn V: NASA's Largest Rocket
29.08.1995

Pictured, a NASA Saturn V rocket blasts off on July 16th, 1969 carrying the crew of Apollo 11 to the Moon. The Saturn V rocket was the largest rocket ever used by NASA, and the only one able to lift the large masses needed to land astronauts on the moon and returning them safely.

Skygazers on the Beach
13.10.2018

Kona, a young boxer, is a dog who loves splashing in the waves along Solana Beach near San Diego, planet Earth. But he paused here, at least briefly, during an early evening romp on October 7.

Skylab Over Earth
30.08.1995

Skylab was an orbiting laboratory launched by a Saturn V rocket in May 1973. Skylab was visited three times by NASA astronauts who sometimes stayed as long as two and a half months. Many scientific tests were preformed on Skylab, including astronomical observations in ultraviolet and X-ray light.

APOD: 2004 August 24- Supply Ship Approaches the Space Station
24.08.2004

The crew on board the International Space Station sometimes needs supplies. As the US Space Shuttle fleet prepares to return to flight, supplies usually now come from a robot Progress supply vessel launched from Kazakhstan.

Skylab Over Earth
18.08.2013

Skylab was an orbiting laboratory launched by a Saturn V rocket in May 1973. Skylab, pictured above, was visited three times by NASA astronauts who sometimes stayed as long as two and a half months. Many scientific tests were performed on Skylab, including astronomical observations in ultraviolet and X-ray light.

Farewell Jupiter
8.08.2001

Next stop: Saturn. The Cassini spacecraft, launched from Earth four years ago, has now swung past Jupiter and should arrive at Saturn in the year 2004. Pictured to the left is a parting shot from Cassini in January that would not have been possible from Earth: Jupiter showing a crescent phase.

The Earth Also Rises
13.10.1996

The Lunar Orbiter 1 spacecraft was launched in 1966 to map the lunar surface in preparation for the Apollo moon landings. NASA's plucky robotic explorer performed its job well and pioneered this classic view of the Earth poised above the lunar horizon.

Discovery s Dawn
9.04.2010

On April 5, visitors to Kennedy Space Center saw these colorful clouds, twisting and drifting through dawn skies. Of course, the clouds were rocket engine plumes from the predawn launch of the space shuttle Discovery on the STS-131 mission to the International Space Station.

Shuttle Ferry
5.08.2003

How does a space shuttle that landed in California get back to Florida for its next launch? The answer is by ferry. NASA operates two commercial Boeing 747 airplanes modified to carry a space shuttle on their backs.