Posted by SpaceSightSeer on April 25, 2009 under Collections, Manned Spaceflight | 
Earth from Space
Earth from Space - Astronauts’ Views of the Home Planet bills itself as a “national treasure”. This site features hand selected photographic imagery taken from the unique vantage point offered by space. These images are chosen for their unique perspective and interesting features of our home planet. These pictures can be searched by cities, by features or even by weather patterns.
Hurricane Claudette as seen by the crew of Expedition 7 July 15, 2003
Posted by SpaceSightSeer on April 13, 2009 under Manned Spaceflight |
Richard Garriott’s Space Mission
Richard Garriott, son of astronaut Owen Garriott, has been active in various space-related ventures such as the Zero-G corporation, X-Prize, Spacehab, and is currently vice-chairman of Space Adventures. He became the world’s sixth private space explorer on October 12, 2008, traveling to the International Space Station on board Soyuz TMA-13. His website includes photos, videos, and information from Garriott’s 12-day flight.
Posted by SpaceSightSeer on April 12, 2009 under Manned Spaceflight |
STS-1
On April April 12, 1981 at 7:00:03 a.m. EST, NASA began a new chapter in manned spaceflight with the maiden voyage of the Space Shuttle Columbia. In a mission lasting 2 days, 6 hours astronaut John Young and Robert Crippen tested the performance of the shuttle and demonstrated a safe launch and return. Payloads included the Developmental Flight Instrumentation (DFI) and the Aerodynamic Coefficient Identifications Package (ACIP) pallet containing equipment for recording temperatures, pressures and acceleration levels at various points on the vehicle. Linked is NASA’s gallery of press release images from the mission as we mark the anniverry of the shuttle’s maiden voyage.
Posted by SpaceSightSeer on April 10, 2009 under Collections, Deep Space Imagery, Manned Spaceflight |
Google Sky
Google Moon
Google Mars
From the people who brought us Google Earth come three cool tools for exploring the beyond.
For Google Sky, Google has teamed with observatories and astronomers around the world to put astronomy at the fingertips of the most casual space fan. Find constellations, planets and distant galaxies through a point-and-click interface. Google Sky is an excellent resource for beginning astronomy for circumstances when a star party might not be feasible.
Google Moon uses images taken by Clementine to display a mosaic of lunar landing sites. Visitors can select a specific Apollo landing site and then navigate to features of interest related to that mission. Several have first-person panoramic views simulating the perspective of our explorer astronauts.
Image: NASA
Google Mars represents the latest addition to the family and uses the same tools found in Google Earth - you can zoom in and out, change the camera view, or spin the entire planet with a click of the mouse. A search box allows you to quickly locate interesting features. Type in the word “face” in the search box, for example, to locate two of the more popular features of the red planet – the “face on Mars” and the “happy face crater.”
There is also an option to “View in 3D with Mars in Google Earth. Through this view, one can apply antique historic maps of Mars or “Live from Mars” streaming from NASA’s Mars Odyssey.
Tags: apollo, astronomy, face on mars, google, happy face crater, images, mars, moon, photos, pictures, sky
Posted by SpaceSightSeer on March 27, 2009 under Manned Spaceflight |
Images from Apollo
On July 20, 1969, Apollo 11 commander Neil Armstrong took “one small step” and “a giant leap for mankind.” NASA is commemorating this historic moment with a series of activities throughout the year. Thousands of images along with archival footage have been released in this online gallery.
Apollo 40th Anniversary
Posted by SpaceSightSeer on March 22, 2009 under Collections, Manned Spaceflight |
Space Story
Story Musgrave, the only astronaut to have flown on all five space shuttles, retired from NASA following a career spanning 30 years and 25 million miles in orbit. Today, Story remains a popular speaker and a consultant to Disney’s Imagineering Group. On his site, Story presents three digital slideshows Faces of Earth, The Heavens, and Humanity each with mutliple chapters featuring images from the unique perspective of a modern explorer.
Posted by SpaceSightSeer on February 9, 2009 under Manned Spaceflight |
China’s First Spacewalk
On September 25, 2008, China launched Shenzou VII for a three day mission. This mission marked an important milestone in the Chinese space program - China becomes only the thirn space-faring nation to sucessfully perform a space walk or extra-vehicular activity (EVA). The spacewalk lasted 20 minutes and was very limited in nature. Astronaut Zhai Zhigang, was tethered to the craft and movements were restricted to remain near the hatch. A relay satellite was also released during the mission. A photo gallery related to this mission is available courtesy of China Central Television (CCTV) providing a rare glimpse into the Chinese space program.
Posted by SpaceSightSeer on January 28, 2009 under Collections, Deep Space Imagery, Manned Spaceflight, Spacecraft, Unmanned Missions |
Planetary Photojournal
This site provides easy access to the publicly released images from NASA’s various Solar System exploration programs. The site includes an excellent variety of images with intuitive navigation. There’s a bit of everything, spacecraft, deep space images, and views of the planets as well as the panoramic Marscapes sent back by the rovers. New images are added just about every day.
Posted by SpaceSightSeer on January 22, 2009 under Manned Spaceflight |
The Gateway to Astronaut Photography of Earth
There’s no denying it - the view of earth from space is spectacular! From the earliest days of the Mercury program to the present crew of the International Space Station, space travelers can’t resist the view. This site boasts the best collection of astronaut photography looking back at earth from space. Images are downloaded from the space station and added daily so there’s always something new to see. There is a complex variety of search tools, but the casual visitor can bypass these by clicking on a world map to find a specific view.
Posted by SpaceSightSeer on January 17, 2009 under Manned Spaceflight |
NASA Human Spaceflight Gallery
This site does better with current events over historical photos, though some historical photos are included. NASA has created a system of quick menus to allow the visitor to jump to collections of images organized by mission. The past few years are fairly complete with images from the International Space Station and the Space Shuttle. Older materials are included, but appear to be only selectively included.
Tags: apollo, constellation, gemini, human spaceflight, images, mercury, NASA, photos, pictures, shuttle, skylab, space station
