Flying at an altitude of over 400 km above Earth, the International Space Station (ISS) appears as a faint streak of light in the sky in a photo taken by NASA’s rocket.
The SLS rocket on Launch Pad 39B at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center, Florida, as the International Space Station flies overhead (the light streak in the upper left) on April 8. Photo: NASA/Joel Kowsky
Photographer Joel Kowsky captured the image of the rocket during NASA’s Artemis 1 lunar mission – the Space Launch System (SLS) – on Launch Pad 39B at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on April 8. In the sky, the faint streak of light zooming past is the International Space Station (ISS). The ISS travels at a speed of about 28,000 km/h at an altitude of over 400 km, completing an orbit around Earth every 90 minutes.
In the photo, the SLS rocket is somewhat difficult to recognize due to being obscured by the bright lights of the launch pad. However, the vibrant colors of the sky, ranging from deep orange-pink to dark blue, still make the image spectacular. The SLS rocket stands 98 meters tall and weighs approximately 2.5 million kg. Upon launch, the rocket will generate a thrust of 39 million newtons.
NASA placed the SLS rocket on the launch pad in March to conduct a crucial countdown test and fuel loading before proceeding with the Artemis 1 mission, scheduled for later this year. The testing began on April 1 but has not gone smoothly. NASA attempted to load fuel into the rocket three times, but each time had to be aborted due to technical issues, the most recent being a faulty valve on the launch tower.
Artemis 1 is an uncrewed test mission in which the Orion spacecraft, carrying experiments and mannequins, will be launched into space and orbit the Moon. If the flight goes well, NASA plans to launch its first crew aboard the SLS rocket in 2024 for the Artemis 2 mission, which is also expected to orbit the Moon. The subsequent mission, Artemis 3, aims to land astronauts near the Moon’s south pole in 2025 or 2026.
