Unique 'Portrait' Of Shuttle And International Space Station Are Inspiring... In A Sad Way

In a matter of months, such a sight will never be seen again... no matter how high you fly. Recently released pix of the International Space Station, docked with the space shuttle are being seen for the next to last time in history. The shuttle, the vehicle that helped build the complex during the last decade, is about to fly its last flight and this next-to-last flight has produced some exquisite, and somewhat heart-breaking imagery. Interestingly; the photos are the first taken of a shuttle docked to the station from the perspective of a Russian Soyuz spacecraft.

On May 23, the Soyuz was carrying Russian cosmonaut Dmitry Kondratyev, NASA astronaut Cady Coleman and European Space Agency astronaut Paolo Nespoli back to Earth. Once their vehicle was about 600 feet from the station, Mission Control Moscow, outside the Russian capital, commanded the orbiting laboratory to rotate 130 degrees.

This move allowed Nespoli to capture digital photographs and high definition video of shuttle Endeavour docked to the station.

The Soyuz landed in Kazakhstan and was taken to Moscow for routine post-landing analysis. NASA and the Russian space agency, Roscosmos, then processed the imagery as part of the standard disposition of spacecraft cargo.

FMI: http://go.nasa.gov/stationportrait, www.nasa.gov/station