2012 wordlessTech best
Was an impressive year with important “ups” and “downs” world records.
These are some of the most impressive, brightest and moving moments in 2012, shorted by date.
Space Station above Ionian Sea
This spectacular image of the International Space Station over Italy and Greece, above the vast Ionian Sea, taken by a crew member of the space shuttle Endeavour during the STS-118 mission. Image credit: NASA
Endeavour through the streets of L.A. [video]
The space shuttle Endeavour maneuvered through the streets of L.A., at the same time cable technicians raise their cherry pickers to watch and photograph, on its way to its new home at the California Science Center. Image credit: NASA/Bill Ingalls.
Endeavour atop NASA’s Shuttle Carrier Aircraft [updated]
Space shuttle Endeavour is seen atop NASA’s Shuttle Carrier Aircraft (SCA), a modified 747 Jumbo jetliner, at the Shuttle Landing Facility at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center on Monday, Sept. 17, 2012 in Cape Canaveral, Fla. Image Credit: NASA/Bill Ingalls
[WPDATE: new videos after the jump]
Launching Into History
A young physicist from California, on June 18, 1983, took her seat aboard the space shuttle and launched into history. Sally Ride at 32, became the first American woman in space as a mission specialist on STS-7. In this image, Ride monitors control panels from the pilot’s chair on the flight deck. Image credit: NASA
Enterprise removed from 747 Carrier Aircraft
Space shuttle Enterprise was removed from NASA’s 747 Shuttle Carrier Aircraft (SCA), at John F. Kennedy (JFK) International Airport in New York, early Sunday morning.
Space Shuttle Enterprise flying over NYC
The Enterprise – the first US shuttle ever built – it left the Washington DC atop a Boeing 747 jet and was filmed swept across the Manhattan skyline for a historic final flyover.
The Flight Deck of Endeavour
The flight deck of Space Shuttle Endeavour, the youngest shuttle and the second to last ever launched. The numerous panels and displays allowed the computer-controlled orbiter to enter the top of Earth’s atmosphere at greater than the speed of sound and (thirty minutes later) land on a runway like an airplane. Image Credit Ben Cooper (Launch Photography)
Shuttle Plume shadow points to the Moon
Why would the shadow of a space shuttle launch plume point toward the Moon? In early 2001 during a launch of Atlantis, the Sun, Earth, Moon, and rocket were all properly aligned for this photogenic coincidence. Image Credit: Pat McCracken, NASA
Ancient Greek pottery to improve Spacecraft tiles
Scientists are studying a Greek 2,500-year-old pottery because they believe its properties could help them design more effective heat tiles for spacecrafts.
