(Space Fellowship) Picture of the Day - Snapshot of the ISS

By , Posted 03/10/10

Link: http://spacefellowship.com/news/art19003/picture-of-the-day-snapshot-of-the-i...

On March 13, 2008, the International Space Station passed across the field-of-view of Germany's remote sensing satellite, TerraSAR-X, at a distance of 195 kilometers, or 122 miles, and at a relative speed of 34,540 kilometers per hour, or more than 22,000 mph. In contrast to optical cameras, radar does not 'see' surfaces. Instead, it is much more aware of the edges and corners which bounce back the microwave signal it transmits. Smooth surfaces such as those on the station's solar g [...]