Great Space Shuttle Pictures

By Nancy Atkinson - December 17, 2008 at 1:19 PM UTC | Space Exploration
shuttle-ride.jpg

[/caption] Say what you want about the space shuttle program, but one thing is for certain: the shuttle is very photogenic. This very nifty image was taken by a chase plane looking down as a Boeing 747 airplane ferried Space Shuttle Endeavour from California to Florida on Dec. 10, 2008, and is today's

NASA picture of the day.

The backdrop is the Mojave Desert in California. This image got me looking for other interesting pictures of the space shuttle, and so I've compiled a few here.

Interesting Update:

Just after posting this, I came across a

news release from NASA

that they are soliciting ideas for displaying the space shuttles after they are retired!

[caption id="attachment_22428" align="aligncenter" width="580" caption="Space shuttle on approach to ISS. Credit: NASA"]

Space shuttle on approach to ISS. Credit: NASA

[/caption] Here Space Shuttle Discovery is approaching the International Space Station in February 2003 during the pitch maneuver that allows the station crew to photograph the entire shuttle to look for any possible damage from launch debris. Breathtaking!

[caption id="attachment_22429" align="aligncenter" width="580" caption="Space Shuttle's tail and Earth's limb. Credit: NASA"]

Space Shuttle's tail and Earth's limb. Credit: NASA

[/caption] This unique image is of the space shuttle's tail with the limb of Earth's atmosphere in the background. [caption id="attachment_22431" align="aligncenter" width="460" caption="Space Shuttle Challenger in 1983. Credit: NASA. "]

Space Shuttle Challenger in 1983. Credit: NASA.

[/caption] Space Shuttle Challenger taken with a 70mm camera onboard a satellite that the shuttle brought up to space. It was taken in 1983, and so is from one of the early shuttle flights. NASA has since abandoned having their cameras put crosshairs on their images, which makes them less scienc-y and more just, wow.

[caption id="attachment_22435" align="aligncenter" width="580" caption="Space Shuttle sonic boom."]

Space Shuttle sonic boom.

[/caption] I found this image in several places around the web, but I don't know who actually took the image. Anyone have a clue who to credit for this image? Its the space shuttle just as its is going through the sound barrier.
[caption id="attachment_22427" align="aligncenter" width="470" caption="Endeavour landing. Credit: NASA"]

Endeavour landing. Credit: NASA

[/caption] This is a beautiful night landing of Space Shuttle Endeavour, and its one of my favorite shuttle images. If anyone has any more favorite shuttle images, feel free to post the links!

Nancy Atkinson

Nancy Atkinson

Nancy Atkinson is a space journalist and author with a passion for telling the stories of people involved in space exploration and astronomy. She is currently retired from daily writing, but worked at Universe Today for 20 years as a writer and editor. She also contributed articles to The Planetary Society, Ad Astra (National Space Society), New Scientist and many other online outlets.

Her 2019 book, "Eight Years to the Moon: The History of the Apollo Missions,” shares the untold stories of engineers and scientists who worked behind the scenes to make the Apollo program so successful, despite the daunting odds against it. Her first book “Incredible Stories From Space: A Behind-the-Scenes Look at the Missions Changing Our View of the Cosmos” (2016) tells the stories of 37 scientists and engineers that work on several current NASA robotic missions to explore the solar system and beyond.

Nancy is also a NASA/JPL Solar System Ambassador, and through this program, she has the opportunity to share her passion of space and astronomy with children and adults through presentations and programs. Nancy's personal website is nancyatkinson.com