Astronomy Picture of the Day
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Each day a different image or photograph of our fascinating universe is
featured, along with a brief explanation written by a professional astronomer.
2014 April 27
SuitSat-1: A Spacesuit Floats Free
Image Credit:
ISS Expedition 12 Crew,
NASA
Explanation:
A spacesuit floated away from the
International Space Station eight years ago,
but no investigation was conducted.
Everyone knew that it was pushed by the space station crew.
Dubbed
Suitsat-1, the unneeded Russian
Orlan spacesuit filled mostly with
old clothes
was fitted with a faint
radio transmitter
and released to orbit the Earth.
The suit circled the Earth twice before its
radio signal became unexpectedly weak.
Suitsat-1 continued to orbit every 90 minutes
until it burned up in the Earth's atmosphere after a few weeks.
Pictured above, the lifeless spacesuit was photographed in 2006 just as it
drifted away from
space station.
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Tomorrow's picture: through the shadow
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Authors & editors:
Robert Nemiroff
(
MTU) &
Jerry Bonnell (
UMCP)
NASA Official: Phillip Newman
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