
STS131-E-11693
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Orbital View of Earth from Docked Shuttle Discovery: The
International Space Station orbits 354 kilometers (220 miles) above
the Earth, completing one trip around the globe every 92 minutes.
Cruising along at 27,700 km (17,200 miles) per hour, the astronauts
experience 15 or 16 sunrises and -sets every day. Since the launch of
the Zarya Control Module on November 20, 1998, the station has
orbited the Earth over 66,500 times (as of June 27, 2010). The
station’s orbit is inclined to the equator by 51.65°, meaning at its
most northerly, it is at the latitude of London, England, and at it
most southerly it is over the latitude of the Falkland
Islands. This view is to the north of the station’s ground track.
In the upper-right, is the tail of the Space Shuttle Discovery, which
docked with the Space Station during the STS-131 mission.
Snow-covered Norway and the Jutland Peninsula is visible at image
center. Low clouds cover Central Europe (image top).
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STS131-E-11827
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Orbital View of Earth from Docked Shuttle Discovery: The
International Space Station orbits 354 kilometers (220 miles) above
the Earth, completing one trip around the globe every 92 minutes.
Cruising along at 27,700 km (17,200 miles) per hour, the astronauts
experience 15 or 16 sunrises and -sets every day. Since the launch of
the Zarya Control Module on November 20, 1998, the station has
orbited the Earth over 66,500 times (as of June 27, 2010). The
station’s orbit is inclined to the equator by 51.65°, meaning at its
most northerly, it is at the latitude of London, England, and at it
most southerly it is over the latitude of the Falkland
Islands. This view features the lake-studded Tibetan Plateau (image
center) and the glaciers of the Himalayan Mountains (image top).
Smoke-shrouded lowlands hug the southern margin of the Himalaya at
image top left.
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STS131-E-12035
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Orbital View of Earth from Docked Shuttle Discovery: The
International Space Station orbits 354 kilometers (220 miles) above
the Earth, completing one trip around the globe every 92 minutes.
Cruising along at 27,700 km (17,200 miles) per hour, the astronauts
experience 15 or 16 sunrises and -sets every day. Since the launch of
the Zarya Control Module on November 20, 1998, the station has
orbited the Earth over 66,500 times (as of June 27, 2010). The
station’s orbit is inclined to the equator by 51.65°, meaning at its
most northerly, it is at the latitude of London, England, and at it
most southerly it is over the latitude of the Falkland
Islands. This view features the arid interior of Australia colored
myriad shades of red. At image top center,the white expanse of Lake
Gairdner - the fourth largest salt lake in Australia when wet, and a
large salt flat when dry - is visible.
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