What's that approaching? Astronauts on board the International Space Station first saw it in early 2010 far in the distance. Soon it enlarged to become a dark silhouette . As it came even closer, the silhouette appeared to be a spaceship. Finally, the object revealed itself to be the Space Shuttle Endeavour , and it soon docked as expected with the Earth-orbiting space station. Pictured above , Endeavour was imaged near Earth's horizon as it approached, where several layers of the Earth's atmosphere were visible. Directly behind the shuttle is the mesosphere , which appears blue. The atmospheric layer that appears white is the stratosphere , while the orange layer is Earth's Troposphere . This shuttle mission , began with a dramatic night launch . Tasks completed during this shuttle's visit to the ISS included the delivery of the Tranquility Module which contained a cupola bay window complex that allows even better views of spaceships approaching and leaving the space station.
Almost Hyperspace: Random APOD Generator
Media Credits & Attribution
Image Credit: Space Station Expedition 22 Crew, NASA