Deploying Spartan
12.08.1999

Last October the Space Shuttle Discovery deployed Spartan 201, a spacecraft that monitored the corona of the Sun. Instruments on Spartan 201 were used to estimate the density of electrons emitted into the solar...

The International Space Station Expands Again
20.09.2006

The developing International Space Station (ISS) has changed its appearance again. Over the past few days, the Space Shuttle Atlantis visited the ISS and pieces of the Integrated Truss Structure, including an impressively long array of solar panels.

APOD: 2009 April 6 The International Space Station Expands Again
6.04.2009

The developing International Space Station (ISS) has changed its appearance again. In a recently completed mission, the Space Shuttle orbiter Discovery visited the ISS and added components that included a new truss and new solar panels.

Shuttle Plume
12.06.2007

What kind of cloud is that? Not a naturally occurring one. Pictured above is the drifting smoke plume left over from last Friday's launch of the Space Shuttle Atlantis. The twisted plume was captured shortly after launch high above NASA's massive Vehicle Assembly Building, the largest single story building in the world.

ISS and Discovery Transit the Sun
29.07.2005

That large sunspot near the right edge of the Sun is actually not a sunspot at all. It's the International Space Station (ISS) docked with the Space Shuttle Discovery on mission STS-114.

Atlantis Last Approach
13.07.2011

For the last time, the US Space Shuttle has approached the International Space Station (ISS). Following a dramatic launch from Cape Canaveral last week that was witnessed by an estimated one million people, Space Shuttle Atlantis on STS-135 lifted a small crew to a welcome rendezvous three days ago with the orbiting station.

Shuttle Engine Blast
26.01.2002

The Space Shuttle Discovery's orbital maneuvering system (OMS) engine firing produced this dramatic flare as it cruised "upside down" in low Earth orbit. Discovery was named for a ship commanded by Captain James Cook RN, the 18th Century English astronomer and navigator.

Shuttle Plume Shadow Points to Moon
19.02.2001

Why would the shadow of a space shuttle launch plume point toward the Moon? Two weeks ago during the launch of Atlantis, the Sun, Earth, Moon, and rocket were all properly aligned for this photogenic coincidence.

Discovery Rollout Shadow
22.09.2010

Who goes there? Although the spotlighted figure in white might not be identifiable by itself, surely the huge shadow behind it makes its identity clear: the space shuttle. Specifically, it was the space shuttle Discovery being rolled out last March in preparation for launch.

A Busy Space Walk at the Space Station
18.07.2011

What's that astronaut doing? Unloading a space shuttle -- for the last time. After the space shuttle Atlantis docked with the Mike Fossum underwent a long spacewalk that included carrying a Robotics Refueling Mission (RRM) payload from Atlantis' cargo bay to a platform used by the space station's famous robot DEXTRE.