Astronomy Picture of the Day

Explanation: 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. Although NASA is discontinuing the aging shuttle fleet, NASA astronauts in the near future will be able to visit the ISS on Russian space flights. Pictured above, Atlantis rises toward the ISS with its cargo bay doors open, showing a gleaming metallic Raffaello Multi-Purpose Logistics Module. Over 200 kilometers below lie the cool blue waters of planet Earth. The much-anticipated last glide back to Earth for the Space Shuttle is currently scheduled for next Thursday, July 21.

Tough Quiz: Can you identify what land masses are visible below the shuttle?

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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.

Publications with keywords: space shuttle Atlantis - international space station - ISS
Publications with words: space shuttle Atlantis - international space station - ISS
See also:

• ISS and the Summer Milky Way
• Orbiting Astronaut Self Portrait
• A Dark Earth with a Red Sprite
• Perseid Below
• Trails in the Morning Sky
• Jupiter and the Moons of Earth
• Flying Over the Earth at Night

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