by Bill Westphal
The Space Shuttle Discovery undocked from the International Space Station earlier in the day. I knew there would be some separation on this evening’s pass and wanted to get one last image of the Shuttle Discovery soaring through the evening sky.
Unfortunately the thin cloud layer slightly obscured the pass. The ISS was visible but the Shuttle Discovery was several seconds ahead of the ISS and much dimmer. It can barely be seen in this image.
This image shows the ISS streaking above the San Gabriel Mountains above Altadena this evening at 7:02 p.m. The Shuttle Discovery is much dimmer and just below the path of the ISS.
Click to enlarge.
This is a 45 Second Exposure, f5.6, ISO 200 using a Canon 5D with the 24-105MM L Zoom Lens at 60MM Focal Length. The image brightness and color were adjusted slightly in Photoshop Elements.
The Space Shuttle Discovery was NASA’s third Shuttle to join the fleet. It has made more flights and carried more crew than any other craft and is the oldest Orbiter in service. It was also the Shuttle that returned the USA to Space Flight following both the Challenger and Columbia accidents.
The final flight of Discovery signals the beginning of the end of NASA’s Shuttle Program.
