Categories: AstrophotosSpace ShuttleSpace Station

ISS Astronaut Captures Shuttle Landing from Cupola

Endeavour from space. Credit: Soichi Noguchi

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ISS astronaut Soichi Noguchi has been sharing lots of amazing pictures he’s taken in space via Twitter, but this one is extra special. Noguchi was able to capture the plasma trail produced by space shuttle Endeavour as it streaked through Earth’s atmosphere. “Space Shuttle Endeavour making S-turn during atmospheric re-entry,” Noguchi wrote on his Twitpic page, where he post his space photos from Twitter, @Astro_Soichi. “The first time it was photographed from Space Station Cupola. Priceless.”

Just think of the precision it took to be able to take this image. Noguchi and the space station were flying about 354 km (220 miles) above Earth, going about 28,163 kph (17,500 mph), and the shuttle was likely flying just under Mach 25 — the speed it is going as it enters Earth’s atmosphere. Priceless indeed!

Nancy Atkinson

Nancy has been with Universe Today since 2004, and has published over 6,000 articles on space exploration, astronomy, science and technology. She is the author of two books: "Eight Years to the Moon: the History of the Apollo Missions," (2019) which shares the stories of 60 engineers and scientists who worked behind the scenes to make landing on the Moon possible; and "Incredible Stories from Space: A Behind-the-Scenes Look at the Missions Changing Our View of the Cosmos" (2016) tells the stories of those who work on NASA's robotic missions to explore the Solar System and beyond. Follow Nancy on Twitter at https://twitter.com/Nancy_A and and Instagram at and https://www.instagram.com/nancyatkinson_ut/