Explanation:
Last week, crew members of the
International Space Station (ISS) watched carefully as the
Space ShuttleDiscovery did a planned but unusual back flip upon approach.
Discovery Commander
Eileen Collins guided the shuttle through the flip,
which was about 200 meters from the
ISS when the
above picture was taken.
The ISS crew took detailed images of the
dark heat shield tiles underneath during a 90-second photo shoot.
The images are being analyzed to assess the condition of the dark
heat shield.
Later the shuttle docked
with the space station.
On the more usually photographed top side of the Space Shuttle, the
above image shows
Discovery's cargo bay doors open toward a distant
Earth below.
