Sorry for the recent spate of NASA-related items, but with the imminent retirement of the Space Shuttle fleet, we really should enjoy all this while we still can.
In that vein, NASA has released a superb video that affords an amazing, up-close perspective on the amazing, improbable structure that our species built to serve as a semi-permanent habitat in outer space. The footage was captured a team of astronauts as they undocked from the International Space Station on May 23, and one commenter on NASA's website put it, "Kubrick would have been proud."
So true! Of course, on some level, we'd expected the whole shebang to look a bit more like this:
Nevertheless, the detail on the real thing is mighty impressive. Let's zoom in (click to embiggen):
Serious wow.
So let's not quibble about the visual aesthetics. Here and now, NASA's wonderful original video did not include a soundtrack, so Telstar Logistics remixed it with the appropriately Kubric-esque "Blue Danube" and uploaded the whole thing to YouTube for your viewing pleasure.
Nicely done, humans.
PHOTO: NASA
Endeavour and ISS AND SOYUZ waltzing : ]
Posted by: striatic | 09 June 2011 at 04:31 PM