Ave atque vale

As the Times has it today, Hail and Farewell.

This is the first and last picture of the Space Shuttle docked with the completed International Space Station. Since the Shuttle is to be retired after the current mission and that other orbiting spacecraft are usually steered away from the area when a mission to the ISS is under way, to minimise risks of collision, we won’t see another of these. Probably.



I suspect this may become one of those iconic pictures in the history of space exploration, like Neil Armstrong on the moon, Earth Rise and so on.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-13691608

Edited to add: facts check - this is actually the Endeavour docked with the ISS. Its final mission ended last month and this picture has only just been released. Atlantis has one final mission forthcoming before it is scrapped, but it is unlikely we will get a picture of it docked.

Ave atque vale

As the Times has it today, Hail and Farewell.

This is the first and last picture of the Space Shuttle docked with the completed International Space Station. Since the Shuttle is to be retired after the current mission and that other orbiting spacecraft are usually steered away from the area when a mission to the ISS is under way, to minimise risks of collision, we won’t see another of these. Probably.



I suspect this may become one of those iconic pictures in the history of space exploration, like Neil Armstrong on the moon, Earth Rise and so on.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-13691608

Edited to add: facts check - this is actually the Endeavour docked with the ISS. Its final mission ended last month and this picture has only just been released. Atlantis has one final mission forthcoming before it is scrapped, but it is unlikely we will get a picture of it docked.