The Week in SpaceNovember 30 - December 6, 2009
The Art of Spaceflight The structures that populate low Earth orbit are predominantly composed of spheres, cylinders, straight edges, or combinations of the three. Spheres are inherently strong when pressurized, cylinders fit nicely in the payload bays of launch vehicles, and linear objects like trusses are strong and simple to assemble. Perhaps because of the ubiquity of these shapes it is always a welcome sight when a space shuttle noses its way into a photograph. Its parabolic shape is at once familiar (the path followed by every ball ever tossed) and unique; something we’ve seen before, but compelling enough to warrant a second look. This closeup of the shuttle Atlantis’s nose and docking system was part of a series of images taken in Feburary 2008 to inspect for any launch-related tile damage. Image credit: NASA Weekly CalendarNovember 30 - December 6, 2009Holidays - Sky Events - Space History
1954: Elizabeth Hodges bruised by a ten-pound meteorite in Alabama |
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