SpaceX gained global attention last week in its first all-civilian mission that will likely open up space travel to more ordinary citizens. The four Inspiration4 crew members spent three days in orbit and returned home last Saturday, the groundbreaking mission witnessed Also the first use of an all-glass observation dome mounted on the top of SpaceX's Crew Dragon spacecraft.
The dome treated the Inspiration4 crew with stunning views of the Earth and beyond, with the panorama visibly improving on the more restricted view presented through the spacecraft's smaller windows.
And it seems that all the attention spent on the Crew Dragon's dome prompted an astronaut aboard the International Space Station to remind everyone that the crew there also has a wonderful window into the world in the form of their own observation unit, Digitartlends reports.
NASA astronaut Shane Kimbrough, who arrived at the orbital position in April, this week posted a stunning view of Greece and the Mediterranean Sea taken from inside the space station's dome.
Another image posted earlier this month shows a dramatic landscape of an alluvial fan in Botswana, where Kimbrough used the unit's seven-window design to subtly frame the natural phenomenon.
Visiting astronauts often head to the dome when they want to take pictures of Earth, with some really great photography efforts. The unit's extensive views mean astronauts also use it to help with spacewalks and to monitor the arrival and departure of spacecraft. The dome was added to the space station in 2010, about 10 years after astronauts began working in the orbiting laboratory. The Crew Dragon Dome is smaller than the space station dome and consists of a single glass dome rather than multiple windows, but the views from both will always be magical.
Comments