Space Shuttle Images

The Space Shuttle mission, images, and photography tips.

Finally after two and a half years the space shuttle Discovery successfully launched and reached orbit today. STS-114 is the first mission to fly since the loss of Shuttle Columbia and the STS-107 crew on Feb. 1, 2003.

The space shuttle Discovery and seven member crew will spend two days traveling to the International Space Station. They are expected to dock with the ISS Thursday morning. The crew will perform a number of tasks including three space walks and transporting materials to the ISS.

Many of the images captured by NASA during the launch are triggered remotely with high speed digital cameras. If you want to capture future space shuttle launches we recommend using a long lens like a 500mm or 600mm lens, select the lowest ASA/ISO setting on your digital camera, select a shutter speed of at least 1/250th , an aperture of 5.6 or 8, and make sure you use the motor drive setting. NASA only launches on near perfect days plus the fiery engines are very bright so not having enough light is rarely a problem.

We love the images of the Space Shuttle flying again and wish crew well in their journey. The space shuttle and crew are scheduled to return to earth on the morning of Aug 7.

Image above: From left, STS-114 astronauts Steve Robinson, Jim Kelly, Andy Thomas, Wendy Lawrence, Charlie Camarda, Eileen Collins and Soichi Noguchi. Photo credit: NASA.

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