Photoshoot survey of the International Space Station by the
departing Soyuz MS-08 crew on Oct. 4, 2018. Credit: Roscosmos/NASA |
CAPE CANAVERAL, FL – The most recent Soyuz crew to depart
the International Space Station (ISS) snapped a spectacular set of survey
photos of the outposts exterior during their farewell fly-around before plunging
safely back to Earth on Oct. 4. The photoshoot
was arranged to celebrate and coincide with the upcoming 20th
anniversary of the ISS this month.
The new photos were released initially by Roscosmos, the
Russian space agency, followed by NASA.
The International Space Station photographed by
Expedition 56 crew members from a Soyuz spacecraft after undocking. NASA astronauts Andrew Feustel and Ricky Arnold and Roscosmos cosmonaut Oleg Artemyev executed a fly around of the orbiting laboratory to take pictures of the station before returning home after spending 197 days in space. The station will celebrate the 20th anniversary of the launch of the first element Zarya in November 2018. Credit: NASA/Roscosmos |
orbiting research complex alternatingly backdropped by the blackness of space
and the blueness and swirling clouds and landscapes of our Home Planet – from
varying perspectives nearly 360 degrees around.
documenting the orbiting labs exterior was captured by the Russian/American
trio of cosmonauts and astronauts from inside their departing Russian Soyuz
MS-08 capsule; comprising NASA astronauts Drew Feustel
and Ricky Arnold,
and cosmonaut Oleg Artemyev
of the Russian space agency Roscosmos.
of the 20th anniversary of the launch of the first elements of the
ISS in November 1998 – starting with the Zarya and
Unity pressurized modules.
this year’s most important space anniversary, #20yearsISS!” – wrote
Roscosmos in a banner headline.
“Thanks to the crew of
Soyuz MS-08 spacecraft, we now have the opportunity to enjoy new photographs of
the International Space Station!”
“We want to extend our
thanks to the cosmonaut Oleg Artemyev and NASA astronauts Andrew Feustel and
Richard Arnold along with everyone who took part in organizing the space
photoshoot and helping to correct the program of the manned spacecraft’s
descent from the orbit for this wonderful gift just in time for the station’s
anniversary,” Roscosmos elaborated.
7:44 a.m. EDT (5:44 p.m. in Kazakhstan) Oct. 4, southeast of the remote town of
Dzhezkazgan in Kazakhstan.
Their soft touchdown in Kazakhstan
capped the conclusion to their productive 197 day long Expedition 56 mission to
the orbiting research complex.
comprising German astronaut Alexander Gerst (ESA), who took command of the ISS
and began Expedition 57 with Flight Engineers Serena Auñón-Chancellor (NASA) and Sergey
Prokopyev (Roscosmos).
That trio remains to today alone on the
station – following the failure of the next crew launch on Oct. 11 with the two
man Russian/American crew comprising Alexey Ovchinin of
Roscosmos and Nick Hague of
NASA in the Soyuz MS-10 capsule.
They
survived safe and sound following an emergency abort and unplanned landing.
Boeing, Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman and more space and mission reports direct
from the Kennedy Space Center, Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida and
Wallops Flight Facility, Virginia.
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