Never before seen images of the Space Shuttle

[Mike]

It is a stunning image and one that is bound to be reproduced over and over again whenever they recall the history of the US space shuttle. The picture was taken by Italian astronaut Paolo Nespoli as he left the International Space Station in May in a Soyuz capsule to return to Earth. Safety procedures mean the Russian vehicle would never normally be in transit when a shuttle is present. It makes this the first-ever image of an American orbiter docked to the ISS. Endeavour sits firmly on the bow of the station, which is moving across the surface of the Earth at a speed of 27,000km/h (17,000mph) and at an altitude of approximately 355km (220 miles). Nespoli's camera is looking along the ISS's truss, or backbone, which carries the four sets of giant solar wings. The stern is occupied by Europe's robotic freighter - the Johannes Kepler ship. The pictures were acquired on 23 May but were only released by the US space agency (Nasa) on Tuesday. They had been eagerly awaited by space fans.

MORE: http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/multimedia/e27depart.html

BBC Report continued: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-13691608

[MarkS]

It is today's APOD:  http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap110608.html