May 19, 2010 — If you look outside your window, chances are you’ll see more than stars in the evening sky. You have a good chance of seeing space shuttle Atlantis and the International Space Station.
The two are flying together 220 miles overhead until Sunday, May 23. Circling the Earth every 90 minutes, they offer unique sighting opportunities for sky gazers around the world.
With the shuttle attached, the station appears even brighter than usual in the morning and evening sky. The station may be seen every day from various locations around the world just prior to sunrise and just after sunset.
In fact, the orbiting space station is now one of the most visible objects in the sky. Most sightings follow a west-to-east path and the spacecraft appear over the western horizon and disappear over the eastern in a matter of a few minutes.
Weather permitting, there are good sighting opportunities for California and Texas today; and for Florida on Thursday. For information about when the spacecraft will be visible over your city, visit http://www.jsc.nasa.gov/sightings
Atlantis delivered the Russian-built Mini Research Module-1 to the station, and the mission's three spacewalks focus on storing spare components outside the station, including a communications antenna, parts for the Canadian Dextre robotic arm, and replacing six solar array batteries.
The space station is celebrating its 10th anniversary of continuous human occupancy this year. Construction began in 1998, and 23 crews have lived aboard the orbiting complex since 2000.
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The International Space Station is featured in this image photographed by an STS-131 crew member on space shuttle Discovery after the station and shuttle began their post-undocking relative separation. Credit: NASA
Mission Specialist Stephen Bowen adjusts a foot restraint during the second STS-132 spacewalk. Credit: NASA TV
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