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.

                                2021 April 1

                Rocket Launch as Seen from the Space Station
             Video Credit: ISAA, NASA, Expedition 57 Crew (ISS);
     Processing: Riccardo Rossi (ISAA, AstronautiCAST); Music: Inspiring
                  Adventure Cinematic Background by Maryna

   Explanation: Have you ever seen a rocket launch -- from space? A close
   inspection of the featured time-lapse video will reveal a rocket rising
   to Earth orbit as seen from the International Space Station (ISS). The
   Russian Soyuz-FG rocket was launched in November 2018 from the Baikonur
   Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, carrying a Progress MS-10 (also 71P) module
   to bring needed supplies to the ISS. Highlights in the 90-second video
   (condensing about 15-minutes) include city lights and clouds visible on
   the Earth on the lower left, blue and gold bands of atmospheric airglow
   running diagonally across the center, and distant stars on the upper
   right that set behind the Earth. A lower stage can be seen falling back
   to Earth as the robotic supply ship fires its thrusters and begins to
   close on the ISS, a space laboratory that celebrated its 20th
   anniversary in 2018. Astronauts who live aboard the Earth-orbiting ISS
   conduct, among more practical duties, numerous science experiments that
   expand human knowledge and enable future commercial industry in low
   Earth orbit.

                       Tomorrow's picture: open space
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       Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (UMCP)
            NASA Official: Phillip Newman Specific rights apply.
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                      A service of: ASD at NASA / GSFC
                             & Michigan Tech. U.

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