ISS Photography: 100 Million Words

If a picture is worth a thousand words, then the Expedition 22 crew aboard the International Space Station is about to complete the generation of 100 million words worth of information.

That’s because Commander Jeff Williams and Flight Engineers Max Suraev, Oleg Kotov, T.J. Creamer, and Soichi Noguchi are expected to snap a total of 100,000 images by the end of their mission in Earth orbit.

Expedition 22 Commander Jeffrey Williams works with test samples in the Human Research Facility 2 Refrigerated Centrifuge as a part of the Nutritional Status Assessment experiment in the International Space Station's Columbus laboratory. Credit: NASA

Williams is setting a record that surpasses his own previous record of 83,856 images taken during Expedition 13 in 2006.

“This week we broke my old Exp. 13 record for number of Earth photos,” Williams “tweeted” from the station. “Later, after landing and recovery, I will post some of best.”

Among those digital still images is this spectacular nighttime image taken of Houston, Texas, the home of Mission Control and astronaut training, and the hub of the International Space Station Program that unites five space agencies and 15 countries in peaceful exploration and scientific research.

Williams and Suraev will end their five-and-a-half-month stay on the station Thursday, when they undock their Soyuz spacecraft and head for a landing in Kazakhstan. They were part of both the Expedition 21 and 22 crews. Kotov, Creamer and Noguchi will stay on orbit, snapping more photos, for two more months before returning home after being part of both the Expedition 22 and 23 crews.

All told, space station crews so far have amassed a total of almost 639,000 images. Those images include photos that document life and work aboard the space station, and photos that document the condition of the home planet from its unique perspective 220 miles above Earth. Their efforts are part of a larger collection that began with Earth observations photos during the Gemini Program of the 1960s. Many of the images are used in scientific research about the Earth, its climate, its resources and the effects humans are having on both.

The Houston metropolitan area at night is featured in this image photographed by an Expedition 22 crew member on the International Space Station. Credit: NASA

The recent STS-130 space shuttle mission delivered a new observation deck known as the cupola that offers the largest window ever flown on a spacecraft, and the upcoming STS-131 shuttle mission to the station will deliver the Window Observational Research Facility (WORF), which will provide a new facility dedicated to multi- and hyper-spectral remote sensing and high resolution Earth observation photography to enhance the use of the best optical-quality window ever flown in space, in the U.S. Destiny Laboratory.

For more information about Earth observations photography, visit the Gateway to Astronaut Photography of the Earth at:

http://eol.jsc.nasa.gov

For more information about WORF, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/science/experiments/WORF.html

For more information about the International Space Station, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov/station

For more information visit http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/expeditions/expedition22/iss_photography.html

Pearl Harbor, Hawaii

ISS021-E-015710 (27 Oct. 2009) --- Pearl Harbor, Hawaii is featured in this image photographed by an Expedition 21 crew member on the International Space Station. This detailed view illustrates the southern coastline of the Hawaiian island of Oahu including Pearl Harbor.

On Dec. 7, 1941 -- 68 years ago -- a surprise attack by the Japanese Navy on Pearl Harbor and other targets on the island of Oahu precipitated the entry of the United States into World War II. Today, Pearl Harbor is still in use as a major United States Navy installation, and with Honolulu is one of the most heavily developed parts of the Island. Comparison between this image and a detailed astronaut photograph of Pearl Harbor taken in 2003 suggests that little observable land use or land cover change has occurred in the area over the past six years. The most significant change is the addition of more naval vessels to the Reserve Fleet anchorage in Middle Loch (center). The urban areas of Waipahu, Pearl City, and Aliamanu border the Harbor to the northwest, north, and east. The built-up areas, recognized by linear streets and white rooftops, contrast sharply with the reddish volcanic soils and green vegetated hillslopes of the surrounding areas.

For more information visit http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/multimedia/pearl_harbor.html

Mission STS-129: Delivering the Goods

Space shuttle Atlantis' STS-129 mission was an ambitious and demanding undertaking that began Nov. 16, 2009, with a spectacular and on-time liftoff at 2:28 p.m. EST from NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

Aboard were Commander Charles O. Hobaugh, Pilot Barry E. Wilmore, Mission Specialists Leland Melvin, Mike Foreman, Robert L. Satcher Jr. and Randy Bresnik. In addition to the crew, there were nearly 30,000 pounds of replacement parts packed in the Express Logistics Carriers, or ELCs, secured inside Atlantis' payload bay.

With a picture-perfect launch behind them, the first task at hand on Nov. 17 was checking the shuttle's wing leading edges and nose cap using the orbiter boom sensor system. The end of the boom consists of cameras and lasers, giving experts on the ground 3-D views of the shuttle's heat shield to ensure there wasn't any damage from launch.

Image above: Space shuttle Atlantis lifts off from the exhaust cloud building on Launch Pad 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Photo credit: NASA/Sandra Joseph and Kevin O'Connell

Later in the day while the shuttle was catching up with the International Space Station, Bresnik, Foreman and Satcher checked out the two spacesuits they would use for the three planned spacewalks.

Once in range of the station on Nov. 18, the shuttle was delicately maneuvered into the rendezvous pitch maneuver, or "backflip," where Expedition 21 Flight Engineers Jeffrey Williams and Nicole Stott took photos from their vantage point.

Images from the first and second inspection were sent back to Earth for experts to review, making sure the shuttle would have a safe flight back through Earth's atmosphere.

Hobaugh then carefully guided Atlantis closer to the station until it was locked into the station's docking port on the Harmony node. It took a couple hours for a series of hatch leak checks to be performed and once accomplished, the hatches were opened and the Atlantis crew was enthusiastically greeted and welcomed aboard the station by the Expedition 21 team.

Image above: Backdropped by Earth's horizon, a partial view of Atlantis' payload bay, vertical stabilizer, orbital maneuvering system pods and docking mechanism are featured in this image. Photo credit: NASA/JSC

As the hatch opened, Nicole Stott's responsibilities as station flight engineer officially ended and she became an STS-129 mission specialist for the remainder of her time in space. Stott is the last NASA astronaut to experience the rotation of launching from and being returned to Earth by a space shuttle. In the future, a Russian Soyuz spacecraft will be used for station crew rotations.

With a demanding to-do list ahead of them, the two crews began with the first task at hand. ELC 1 was grappled from Atlantis' payload bay by Melvin and Bresnik with the shuttle's robotic arm and handed off to the station's robotic arm controlled by Wilmore and Williams. The platform was permanently installed to the outside of the station to store large cargo.

That evening Foreman and Satcher spent the night camping out in the Quest airlock preparing for their first spacewalk. After stepping out into space the next day, Foreman and Satcher completed all major tasks almost two hours ahead of schedule. In addition, Foreman was able to successfully connect a cable on the Unity node -- one that was uncooperative for the STS-128 crew in September.

Image above: STS-129 and Expedition 21 crew members greet each other shortly after space shuttle Atlantis and the International Space Station docked in space and the hatches were opened. Photo credit: NASA/JSC

Inside the station, work was ongoing to prepare for the arrival of the Tranquility node, which will be flown on shuttle Endeavour's STS-130 mission targeted for early 2010.

Overnight, a false depressurization alarm sounded and woke the crew, but flight control teams on the ground determined there was no danger to the station or crew. In the STS-129 post-landing crew press conference, said, "The training the crew members received helped them deal with the false alarms that went off a few times during their stay on the orbiting outpost."

The relocation of supplies and equipment between Atlantis and the station continued Nov. 20, in addition to tackling a variety of maintenance, troubleshooting and science activities -- keeping both station and shuttle crews busy.

Early the next morning, the second carrier with almost 10,000 pounds of large spare parts, including an attitude-control gyroscope, was moved from the shuttle's cargo bay to its permanent location on the S3 side of the station's truss, or backbone.

Image above: Mission Specialist Randy Bresnik, near the Columbus laboratory, participates in the STS-129 mission's second spacewalk. Photo credit: NASA/JSC

The two platforms that were attached to the station allow additional storage space for the mountain of supplies and equipment needed for the smooth and efficient running of the orbiting laboratory, now and well into the future after the shuttles are retired.

A little later, Foreman and Bresnik made their way into the emptiness of space for the second successful spacewalk of the mission. They not only completed their tasks ahead of schedule but also accomplished some get-ahead jobs -- all in six hours, eight minutes.

Meanwhile, another success story was in the making. On the morning of Nov. 22, Bresnik was told by the Mission Control Center in Houston that his wife, Rebecca, had given birth to their daughter, Abigail Mae Bresnik. He was assured that both baby and mother were doing just fine. Atlantis' crew members were given a well-earned, half day off to celebrate. The rest of day was dedicated to preparing for the third spacewalk on Nov. 23, featuring Satcher and Bresnik.

Image above: STS-129 and Expedition 21 crew members gather for a formal portrait. Photo credit: NASA/JSC

The space excursion began more than an hour later than planned because a drinking-water valve in Satcher's spacesuit became dislodged and the helmet had to be opened to reattach the valve. With the fix behind them, Bresnik and Satcher completed all the tasks in just five hours, 42 minutes -- almost on time, regardless of the late start.

Later, the last of the mission's spare hardware was moved thanks to the combined effort of all 12 shuttle and station crew members.

On Nov. 22, the shuttle and station crew members said their final farewells before the hatches between shuttle Atlantis and the station were securely closed -- after which the shuttle crew prepared for undocking.

Wilmore eased the shuttle away from the station circling around the outpost. Crew members videoed and snapped photos of the orbiting laboratory in order to assess its exterior condition.

One more survey was in store for the shuttle's heat shield with Wilmore and Melvin using the orbiter boom sensor system -- a five-hour process.

Image above: Space shuttle Atlantis touches down on the Shuttle Landing Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Photo credit: NASA/Tim Terry

Atlantis crew members spent part of Thanksgiving preparing for their Nov. 27 landing date. They tested the thruster jets that control the shuttle's orientation in space and during early re-entry, as well as the flaps and rudders that guide it through the atmosphere.

The day didn't pass without a surprise, though. A traditional turkey dinner with all the trimmings found its way aboard Atlantis before undocking -- compliments of the Expedition 21 crew members.

It was a perfect end to a nearly perfect mission. After the twin sonic booms echoed and Atlantis came out of a clear-blue sky, the vehicle and crew touched down on Kennedy's Shuttle Landing Facility on Nov. 27 at 9:44 a.m. EST.

After winding up a successful 11-day flight to deliver spare parts, other equipment and supplies to the International Space Station, the crew took their last walk around the vehicle that served them well from start to finish.

After a short ride to crew quarters, the astronauts were given a thorough medical exam and met with their families. On Nov. 28, the crew flew home to Houston, and on Nov. 30, they were honored at a homecoming ceremony held at nearby Ellington Field.

Atlantis' STS-129 mission was the 31st flight dedicated to space station assembly, resupply and maintenance -- one that should help keep the station supplied well into the future.

Elaine M. Marconi
NASA's John F. Kennedy Space Center

For more information visit http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/shuttle/shuttlemissions/sts129/launch/129_overview.html

Off-Duty Day for Station Crew

Expedition 22 Commander Jeff Williams and Flight Engineer Max Suraev of the two-person International Space Station crew enjoyed their second of two off-duty days Wednesday.

Three more crew members, Russian cosmonaut Oleg Kotov, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency astronaut Soichi Noguchi and NASA astronaut T.J. Creamer, all flight engineers, are scheduled to launch on the Soyuz TMA-17 Dec. 20 and will arrive at the station Dec. 23.

Meanwhile, Expedition 21 crew members Frank De Winne, Roman Romanenko and Bob Thirsk arrived in Star City, Russia about 10 a.m. EST (about 6 p.m. Moscow time) Wednesday and were reunited with their families.

De Winne, Romanenko and Thirsk returned to Earth aboard the Soyuz TMA-15 spacecraft at 2:15 a.m. Tuesday, landing on the steppes of Kazakhstan.

For more information visit http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/main/index.html

Expedition 21 Crew Lands in Kazakhstan

Expedition 21 Flight Engineer and Soyuz Commander Roman Romanenko, European Space Agency Flight Engineer Frank De Winne and Canadian Space Agency Flight Engineer Robert Thirsk have returned to Earth, landing on the steppes of Kazakhstan in their Soyuz TMA-15 spacecraft. Landing occurred at 2:15 a.m. EST Tuesday, 1:15 p.m. Kazakhstan time.

All three crew members were reported to be in good condition. Due to icy conditions at the landing site, the landing support team recalled its helicopters to their bases in Kustanai and Arkalyk, Kazakhstan. Instead the team arrived in all-terrain vehicles from nearby Arkalyk to extract the Expedition 21 crew members from the Soyuz crew module.

Romanenko, De Winne and Thirsk spent 188 days in space, 186 of those aboard the orbiting International Space Station. The three arrived at the station in May as part of Expedition 20, which marked the start of six-person crew operations aboard the station. With their arrival, all five of the international partner agencies – NASA, the Russian Federal Space Agency (Roscosmos), the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), the European Space Agency (ESA) and the Canadian Space Agency (CSA) – were represented on orbit for the first time.

Romanenko, a cosmonaut with Roscosmos, served as a flight engineer for Expeditions 20 and 21. He was selected as a test-cosmonaut candidate of the Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center Cosmonaut Office in December 1997. The son of veteran Cosmonaut Yuri Romanenko, he qualified as a test cosmonaut in November 1999.

Image above: The Soyuz TMA-15 spacecraft carrying Flight Engineers Frank De Winne, Roman Romanenko and Robert Thirsk lands in the steppes of Kazakhstan. Credit: Roscosmos/NASA TV

De Winne, an ESA astronaut, served as a flight engineer for Expeditions 20 and 21 and commander for Expedition 21. He spent nine days aboard the station in 2002 as a member of the Odissea mission arriving on a new spacecraft, the Soyuz TMA-1, then leaving on an older Soyuz TM-34.

Thirsk, a CSA astronaut, served as a flight engineer for Expeditions 20 and 21. In 1996, Thirsk flew as a payload specialist astronaut aboard space shuttle mission STS-78, the Life and Microgravity Spacelab mission.

After traveling back to the Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center in Star City, Russia, the crew members will be reunited with their families and start their reorientation to a gravity environment after a half year off the planet.

Commander Jeff Williams and Flight Engineer Maxim Suraev remain on the station, comprising the Expedition 22 crew as a two-man contingent for three weeks until the arrival Dec. 23 of Russian cosmonaut Oleg Kotov, NASA’s T.J. Creamer, and Soichi Noguchi of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, who will launch to the station Dec. 20 on the Soyuz TMA-17 craft.

For more information visit http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/expeditions/expedition21/exp21_land.html

The Way Home

Seen over the Mediterranean Sea, near the Algerian coast, the space shuttle Atlantis is featured in this image photographed by the Expedition 21 crew on the International Space Station soon after the shuttle and station began their post-undocking separation. Undocking of the two spacecraft occurred at 4:53 a.m. EST on Nov. 25, 2009.

Image Credit: NASA

For more information visit http://www.nasa.gov/multimedia/imagegallery/image_feature_1530.html

Progress 35 Docks to Station

A new Progress cargo resupply vehicle docked to the Pirs Docking Compartment of the International Space Station at 9:40 p.m. EDT on Saturday, Oct. 17. The ISS Progress 35 unpiloted spacecraft brings to the orbiting laboratory 1,918 pounds of propellant, 110 pounds of oxygen and air, 926 pounds of water and 1,750 pounds of spare parts and supplies for the Expedition 21 crew.

Progress 35 launched from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan to the International Space Station at 9:14 p.m. on Wednesday, Oct. 14. It replaces the trash-filled Progress 34, which undocked on Sept. 21 and was destroyed on re-entry into Earth’s atmosphere over the Pacific Ocean on Sept. 27.

The International Space Station’s Pirs docking compartment is seen from the approaching ISS Progress 35 as the cargo craft prepares to dock to the orbital outpost. Credit: NASA TV

Once the Expedition 21 crew members have unloaded the cargo from the new Progress, the craft will be filled with trash and station discards. It will be undocked from the station in April, and like its predecessors, will be deorbited to burn in the Earth's atmosphere.

The Progress joins two Russian Soyuz spacecraft at the station, which are serving as return vehicles for the six crew members on the orbiting laboratory.

For more information visit http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/expeditions/expedition21/p35_dock.html