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NASA Science News for January 27, 2003

Look at that Spaceship
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The space shuttle Columbia (STS-107) will make a lovely series of
morning passes over the United States this week. 

January 27, 2003: It's dark, the stars are out, you're all alone.
Suddenly an eerie light soars over the horizon. It glides noiselessly
overhead--a spaceship! You dash inside and wake the family, but by the 
time you're outside again it's too late. The ship is long gone and 
nobody believes you anyway. 

Don't you hate it when that happens?

This week could be different: A spaceship will appear, but even if
you're the only one who sees it you can prove you're not crazy.
That's because it'll be back again tomorrow.

We're talking about the space shuttle Columbia (STS-107).

Columbia left Earth on Jan. 16th for a 16-day mission dedicated to
scientific research. Onboard are 80+ scientific experiments ranging
from fundamental physics and biology to fire fighting and perfume
research. Although Columbia has been circling Earth every 90 minutes
since launch, it hasn't been easy to see from North America until now.

This week Columbia will fly over many US towns and cities. The best
time to watch is around daybreak, but if you oversleep and miss it one 
day--no problem. You can see it the next at almost exactly the same 
time. For example, on Tuesday, Jan. 28th, sky watchers in Washington 
D.C. can see Columbia glide nearly overhead at 6:01 a.m.  local time. 
On Jan. 29th it will appear at 6:00 a.m.. On January 30th it will 
appear at 5:57 a.m.... and so on until the shuttle lands on Feb. 1st.

San Francisco, New York and St. Louis will experience similar
apparitions. To find out when to look from your hometown, check one of 
these web sites: Science{at}NASA's J-Pass, Chris Peat's Heavens Above, or 
the Johnson Space Flight Center's Skywatch. Each will ask for your zip 
code or city, and respond with a schedule of suggested spotting times.

The space shuttle flying overhead at dawn is really a beautiful sight. 
You'll spot it first in the western sky not too far from Jupiter. The 
giant planet is brighter than the shuttle, but not much.  Both are 
among the brightest "stars" in the morning sky. Columbia will glide 
slowly eastward toward Venus and the rising Sun. The shuttle takes 
about 6 minutes to travel from one horizon to the other. It only seems 
slow, however. Four hundred km above Earth, Columbia is moving 17,500 
mph! 

In recent years, most shuttle missions have been to the International
Space Station (ISS) to deliver supplies, personnel and building
materials to the growing outpost. (STS-107 is different. Columbia is
nowhere near the ISS--it doesn't need to be to accomplish its research 
goals.) Sky watchers who have seen both spacecraft orbiting Earth in 
tandem have noticed something remarkable: although the shuttle is only 
1/3 as big as the space station, the shuttle is much brighter.

Why?

Both spacecraft shine by means of reflected sunlight and both are good 
reflectors with plenty of light-colored surfaces. But while the ISS is 
a gangly structure that reflects light in all directions, the shuttle 
has a more regular shape like an airplane. Its smooth white top 
reflects sunlight exceptionally well. 

We can see Columbia's white top because it circles Earth "upside
down." The orbiter's tough black underside faces outward toward space
to protect the crew and cargo from incoming meteoroids. In this
position, astronauts and telescopes inside the open cargo bay get a
good view of Earth, which is a key requirement for Earth science
experiments. (There are two such experiments on STS-107: one to study
Earth's ozone layer and another to monitor dust plumes over the
Mediterranean Sea.) 

Convincing your family and friends that you had seen a spaceship was
hard enough ... but an upside down spaceship? This week they can see
for themselves. 

Credits & Contacts
Author: Dr. Tony Phillips 
Responsible NASA official: Ron Koczor 
Production Editor: Dr. Tony Phillips 
Curator: Bryan Walls 
Media Relations: Steve Roy

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