May 13, 2009
When you were born, the Sun rose on a world that had never seen you before. Since then, every dawn has arrived in a universe subtly altered...
A Space Shuttle Before Dawn
Birthday · May 13, 2009
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APOD published May 13, 2009. Credit: Charles Danforth (CASA, U. Colorado). A publication-date match, not a photo taken on your date. Independent of NASA.
This shuttle has launched to space. Pictured above, the Space Shuttle Atlantis sat on Launch Pad 39A before dawn last month as it was prepared for the launch. The shuttle orbiter is visible on the image right, attached to a brown liquid fuel tank and two white solid rocket boosters. In the image center is the Fixed Service Structure that stands just over 100 meters tall, including the white lightning rod at the top. Starting on Sunday, the space shuttle embarked on one of its most ambitious missions ever: its fourth mission to fix and upgrade the ageing Hubble Space Telescope. Hubble's replacement, the James Webb Space Telescope, is currently scheduled for launch in 2014.
Image credit: Charles Danforth (CASA, U. Colorado)