APOD
Astronomy Picture of the Day
Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation written by a professional astronomer.
Discovery Rollout Shadow
Explanation: Who goes there ? Although the spotlighted figure in white might not be identifiable by itself, surely the huge shadow behind it makes its identity clear: the space shuttle . Specifically, it was the space shuttle Discovery being rolled out last March in preparation for launch. As captured above , an unusual monstrous shadow on passing fog was created during a picturesque night unveiling. While on the shuttle Crawler-Transporter , one of the largest tracked vehicles on Earth, the shuttle moved at about 2 km per hour from the main assembly building to the launch pad at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida , USA . About a month later, in its penultimate planned mission, Discovery roared off the launch pad and delivered needed supplies and equipment to the International Space Station . Yesterday, Discovery reached Launch Pad 39A in preparation for its last planned mission .
| Date | September 22, 2010 |
|---|---|
| Credit | Credit & Copyright: Nancy Atkinson ( Universe Today ) |
| Authors & editors: | Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (UMCP) |
| A service of: |
ASD at NASA / GSFC, NASA Science Activation & Michigan Tech. U. |



