The International Space Station’s Expedition 18 crew provided a close-up view of Endeavour’s tail section. The image provides partial views of the shuttle’s main engines, orbital maneuvering system pods, vertical stabilizer, the payload bay door panels and the Leonard Multi-Purpose Logistics Module located in the cargo bay.
Before docking with the station, astronaut Chris Ferguson, STS-126 commander, flew the shuttle through a roll pitch maneuver or basically a backflip to allow the space station crew a good view of Endeavour’s heat shield. Using digital still cameras equipped with both 400 and 800 millimeter lenses, the station crew took a number of photos of the shuttle’s thermal protection system and sent them down to teams on the ground for analysis. A 400 millimeter lens was used for this image.Image Credit: NASA