S128E009839 - STS-128 - ISS Flyaround views from STS-128
Summary
The original finding aid described this as:
Description: View of the service module (SM) and Functional Cargo Block (FGB) during flyaround of the International Space Station (ISS) taken by an STS-128 crewmember after the undocking of the orbiter Discovery.
Subject Terms: STS-128, Undocking
Date Taken: 9/8/2009
Categories: Station Configuration
Interior_Exterior: Exterior
Ground_Orbit: On-orbit
Element: Service Module (SM)
Original: Digital Still
Preservation File Format: TIFF
STS-128
The International Space Station (ISS) is a habitable space station in low Earth orbit with an altitude of between 330 and 435 km (205 and 270 mi). It completes 15.54 orbits per day. Its first component launched into orbit in 1998, and the ISS is now the largest man-made body in low Earth orbit. The ISS consists of many pressurized modules, external trusses, solar arrays, and other components. ISS components have been launched by Russian Proton and Soyuz rockets, and American Space Shuttles. The ISS is a space research laboratory, the testing ground for technologies and systems required for missions to the Moon and Mars. The station has been continuously occupied for 16 years and 201 days since the arrival of Expedition 1 on 2 November 2000. This is the longest continuous human presence in low Earth orbit, having surpassed the previous record of 9 years and 357 days held by Mir. The station is serviced by a variety of visiting spacecraft: the Russian Soyuz and Progress, the American Dragon and Cygnus, the Japanese H-II Transfer Vehicle, and formerly the Space Shuttle and the European Automated Transfer Vehicle. It has been visited by astronauts, cosmonauts and space tourists from 17 different nations.