Our 100mm-lens Hasselblad photo of three of the Hawaiian islands was taken on Nov. 28, 1996 from an altitude of 190 nm (352 km). From Columbia, we noticed the clouds piled high on the windward side of Molokai (upper left), Lanai (center), and west Maui (upper right). Molokai’s highest point is 4970 feet, the summit of East Molokai volcano, the northern half of which slid into the sea in a titanic landslide. From the north shore, the projecting peninsula is a small shield volcano, the most recent eruption on Molokai, and the location of Kalaupapa, the site of a leper colony that operated from 1866 to 1969. Fr. Damien’s service there made the colony famous, and the community is now a national historical park. On the west end, the Papohaku Beach, a 3-mile long curve of golden sand, makes for an idyllic walk (been there, done that, and would still like to go back).

NASA says that Maui is the second youngest and second largest of the main Hawaiian Islands. Maui covers an area of 728 sq. miles (1886 sq. km). The island consists of two large volcanoes, West Maui (extinct, and visible here) and East Maui, (Haleakala) which last erupted in 1790. Lanai (near the center of the image), once owned by the Dole Pineapple Company, is the remnant of a volcano that is over one million years old. Lanai covers an area of 141 sq. miles (365 sq. km) and is 18 miles (29 km) long and 13 miles (21 km) wide. Molokai (situated north of Lanai) covers an area of 261 sq. miles (676 sq. km) and is 38 miles (61 km) long and only 10 miles (16 km) wide, with the west end being very dry.

The Molokai channel west of Maui and between those two islands is also known as Lahaina Roads, a deep-water, protected anchorage that was once a regular anchorage for the U.S. Pacific fleet. The Japanese Pearl Harbor striking force reconnoitered Lahaina Roads on the morning of Dec. 7, 1941, and found it empty. Had the U.S. battleships been sunk in Lahaina Roads, salvage and repair in those deep waters would have been impossible. “Lucky” the fleet was in Pearl Harbor on that fateful morning.

My family visited Lanai in 2001 and enjoyed the cool uplands on the slopes of the ancient volcano there, Mount Lānaʻihale, whose summit is at an elevation of 3,366 feet. On the south shore is Manele Bay, at Hulupoe Beach, a great spot for body surfing and snorkeling. Larry Ellison, co-founder of Oracle, owns most of Lanai–but he’s never had the view that our crew on Columbia did.   (added 1/14/19)

 

Our STS-80 Columbia crew took the above 100mm telephoto image of the Nabro volcano on Dec. 6, 1996. We were 187 nm (346 km) above the shores of the Red Sea near the Afar Triangle, where the Red Sea enters the Gulf of Aden. Nabro is a stratovolcano in the Southern Red Sea Region of Eritrea. It is located at the south-east end of the Danakil Alps in the Danakil Depression. Before its 2011 eruption, the volcano was widely believed to be extinct. North is at the top of this image. Its twin calderas are at lower left; the 7,721-foot mountain has erupted black, basaltic lava flows from its caldera and flanks.

Part of the Afar Triangle, the Nabro Volcano is one of many volcanic caldera complexes in the northeasternmost part of the East African Rift valley region. The twin calderas likely formed during an eruption of about 20 to 100 cubic kilometres consisting of ignimbrite, although the date of their formation is unknown.

Until June 2011, Nabro had not erupted in recorded history, but an eruption from the caldera on June 13 that year produced a high-altitude ash cloud, and sent a basalt flow to the northwest of the caldera and killed several residents of this arid region. (posted Jan. 11, 2019)

Our Columbia crew was 187 nautical miles over the island of Hawaii, the Big Island, when we snapped this 250mm Hasselblad photo on Nov. 25, 1996. This view captures the summits of both of the island’s tallest volcanoes, Mauna Loa on the south (bottom), and Mauna Kea on the north, at right center with a tiny cluster of white clouds at its 13,803-foot (4207-meter) summit. In our view of the western half of Hawaii Island, volcanic smog from Kilauea (under the clouds to the right) swirls off the western shore, surrounding white clouds on the shoreline.

Hualalai volcano, with a summit at 8,271 feet, is at center left in this photo, dotted by cinder cones on its flanks. The Kailua-Kona airport is visible at the western tip of the island, surrounded by Hualalai lava flows from the early 1800s. The Kohala peninsula, the oldest dormant volcano on Hawaii, stretches northwest, its windward coast under cloud cover.

I particularly like this photo because under magnification, Mauna Kea’s summit (over 10,000 meters above the sea floor, and thus the world’s tallest mountain–but not the most massive) shows several of the observatories sited above most of the water vapor in the atmosphere. I used NASA’s Infrared Telescope Facility there in the late 1980s to search for water on asteroid surfaces.

More info from NASA:

Mauna Loa, or “Long Mountain,” is a volcano located on the big island of Hawai’i and is part of the Hawaiian Island chain. It is the world’s largest active volcano rising 13,680 feet above sea level. It is a shield volcano with a volume of approximately 18,000 cubic miles…With its summit standing roughly 17 km (56,000 feet) above its base and its flanks covering about half of the Island of Hawai‘i, Mauna Loa is the world’s largest volcano. According to the U.S. Geological Survey, Mauna Loa’s peak rises roughly 4 km above sea level, its flanks slope downward another 5 km to the ocean floor, and then it is so massive it compresses the sea floor another 8 km!

Mauna Loa has erupted more than 35 times since the island was first visited by westerners in the early 1800s. The large summit crater, called Mokuaweoweo Caldera, is clearly visible near the center of the image. Leading away from the caldera (towards top right and lower center) are the two main rift zones. Rift zones are areas of weakness within the upper part of the volcano that are often ripped open as new magma (molten rock) approaches the surface at the start of an eruption. The most recent eruption of Mauna Loa was in March and April 1984, when segments of the northeast rift zones were active.

If the height of the volcano was measured from its base on the ocean floor instead of from sea level, Mauna Loa would be the tallest mountain on Earth. Its peak (center of the image) rises more than 8 kilometers (5 miles) above the ocean floor. The South Kona District, known for cultivation of macadamia nuts and coffee, can be seen on the left. North is toward the top. Mauna Loa presents a future hazard to the local towns of Hilo and Kona. The Kilauea volcano is located off to the right of Mauna Loa and is not visible in this image.

 

(added Dec. 11, 2018) Our crew shot this 250mm Hasselblad image of Midway atoll in the central Pacific (“midway” between San Francisco and Tokyo) on Nov. 23, 1996, from an altitude of 189 nautical miles (350 km). I was always on the lookout for Midway due to its significance in WWII. Our photo shows Sand Island on the west, Eastern Island on the right, and the protected lagoon with its shipping channels cut through the coral and sand. As NASA points out:

Like tiny pearls floating in a vast sea, the tiny islands and atolls of the North Pacific Ocean can be difficult to view from space as they sit in the deep blue expanse of the North Pacific Ocean.

…Midway’s beautiful blue and silver coloration is not from the land mass, but from the coral reef ringing the island. At the highest resolution, the scant 6.2 square km of land appears tan. Sand Island is the largest island and sits to the west of second largest island in the atoll, Eastern Island. At its peak, the land only rises only 13 meters above sea level.

Midway Atoll is just 150 miles east of the International Dateline, making it truly midway around the world from the Greenwich meridian. It sits on the far northern end of the Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument, and is the only atoll or island in the Hawaiian archipelago not part of the State of Hawaii. In 1988, Midway became a National Wildlife Refuge and is now administered by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

The rich waters and bits of land that make up Midway Atoll provide a home for a wide variety of species. A complex community of invertebrates and coral reef fishes thrive in the protected lagoon and in the reefs. An estimated 3 million individual birds of at least 21 species nest on the tiny islands, filling nearly every square inch of available habitat. The beaches provide nursing grounds for the endangered Hawaiian monk seals, and a place for threatened green turtles to haul out for a much needed rest.

On June 4, 1942, Midway was attacked by Japanese Admiral Yamamoto’s Imperial Combined Fleet in an attempt to lure the U.S. Navy’s aircraft carriers to their destruction. Japanese strike aircraft bombed the aircraft hangars, command post, and fortifications, but did not put the airfield out of operation (they hoped to capture it for their own use). During a desperate series of air battles, three U.S. carriers surprised the Japanese carrier striking force and sank all four of its fleet carriers by the end of the day. The U.S. Navy lost the carrier Yorktown to air and submarine attack, but the destruction of the Japanese fleet’s air striking arm forced its withdrawal, and marked the end of Japanese expansion in the Pacific.

Despite its historical importance and some remaining WWII structures (and a long runway on Sand Island) tourism to Midway is not currently permitted by the U.S. government:

https://www.fws.gov/refuge/Midway_Atoll/

I urge the Fish and Wildlife Service will reopen this important site to tourism.

(Added 12/6/18) East of Mt. Everest near the borders of Tibet, Bhutan, and China, we on Columbia caught an early morning view of Jomolhari, at the center of our telephoto Hasselblad shot. Its long shadow is what caught my eye, as did the shadows thrown by this entire range. Adjacent to the right is the slightly lower peak of Jichu Drake, feeding a glacier stretching east. North is to upper right. Jomolhari reaches 24,035 feet MSL.

From Wikipedia: “Jomolhari is sometimes known as “the bride of Kangchenjunga,” the world’s third tallest mountain. Jomolhari’s north face rises over 2,700 metres (8,900 ft) above the barren plains. It’s the source of the Paro Chu (Paro river) which flows from the south side and the Amo Chu which flows from the north side.”

That lake at right center is called Duoqing Co., and just to the southeast runs another line of jagged, saw-toothed peaks. What a vantage point we had!

 

(Edited Dec. 5, 2018) Soaring eastward over the vast Sahara, we enjoyed repeated views of the exposed sands and bedrock of this arid region, laid bare by the lack of vegetation. Here is our crew’s 250mm Hasselblad telephoto shot of the Emi Koussi volcanic summit in Chad.

According to NASA, the broad Emi Koussi volcano is a shield volcano located in northern Chad, at the south-eastern end of the Tibesti Range. The dark volcanic rocks of the volcano provide a sharp contrast to the underlying tan and light brown sandstone exposed to the west, south, and east (image lower left, lower right, and upper right). This astronaut photograph highlights the entire volcanic structure. At 3,415 meters above sea level, Emi Koussi is the highest summit of Africa’s Sahara region. The summit includes three calderas formed by powerful eruptions. Two older and overlapping calderas form a depression approximately 12 kilometres by 15 kilometres in area bounded by a distinct rim (image centre). The youngest and smallest caldera, Era Kohor, formed as a result of eruptive activity within the past 2 million years.

Although the volcano hasn’t erupted in recorded history, there are recent lava flows on the flanks of the mountain, and hot springs and fumaroles are still active at its foot. Emi Koussi reminds me of some of Mars’ ancient shield volcanoes.

(Dec. 6, 2017 entry:)

Twenty-one years ago, my Columbia crewmates (Ken Cockrell, Tammy Jernigan, Story Musgrave, and Kent Rominger) and I were still a day away from landing in Florida, and snapping Earth photos as fast as our index fingers could hit the shutter button. This Hasselblad 70mm photo was taken on Nov. 28, 1996 as we soared over the Arabian peninsula. This region of the Middle East is one of the most recognizable landscapes seen from space, thanks to its unique geographical features. Here’s the NASA caption:

A view to the west showing Asia in the foreground and Africa in the background, as photographed by the space shuttle Columbia crewmembers. The Mediterranean Sea is to the upper right and the Red Sea to the lower left. Sinai Peninsula is between the two with the Gulf of Suez above and the Gulf of Aqaba below. The Suez Canal connects the Gulf of Suez with the Mediterranean Sea. The triangular shaped dark area beyond is the Nile River Delta. The thin green fertile valley of the Nile crosses the photograph from a point at Cairo (near dark triangle area) past the great bend at Luxor with Thebes and the Valley of the Kings, and on the left into the Nubian Desert with the Aswan High Dam at the very left edge of the photograph. To the horizon is the Western Desert of Egypt and Libya. The foreground is the northwest portion of Saudi Arabia, an area known as the Hejaz with the southern portions of Israel and Jordan to the lower right. (NASA STS080-745-004)

**

(Nov. 27, 2017) As winter comes on here on the US East Coast, it’s easy to imagine the attractions of the warm, sun-kissed beaches of Hawaii. Twenty-one years ago on Columbia, STS-80, my crew gazed down at the island of Oahu–and wished we could just spiral down for a few days of relaxation. Here’s the NASA caption (modified by me to fit this “north at top” image):

The capital of the state of Hawaii was photographed by the crew members aboard the Earth-orbiting Space Shuttle Columbia on Nov.25, 1996. North is at top. The western portion (left part of photograph) of the well eroded extinct volcano is quite visible under clear skies. The northeastern coastal area and Koolau Range of mountains, which runs the length of the island (30 miles) are cloud-covered. This is the windward side of the island (great for surfing) and the warm moist Pacific winds sweep up the mountains thus causing the clouds and an unusually high rainfall. The city of Honolulu is along the lower right side with the Honolulu International Airport clearly seen. To the left of the airport is the narrow entrance to Pearl Harbor and nearby Hickam Air Force Base. The narrow sand beaches of the Waikiki Beach resort area, just left of Diamond Head – on the lower right, appear as narrow white lines along the coast to the right of the airport and port of Honolulu. The sharp point at the leftmost portion of the photo is Kaena Point. The cliffs there are so steep that there is no developed roadway, although a narrow gauge railway was carved into the cliffs and operated the first half of the century. (NASA STS080-758-065)

Aloha!

***

A keeper: Mount Everest is the pyramidal peak at center, at the end of the longer arm of the V-shaped valley at bottom center. Tibet is to the bottom (north), with Nepal at top, beyond Everest. Rongbuk Glacier flows to the north (bottom) while Khumbu Glacier flows to the south from Mount Everest. Many other glaciers are visible. The snow level is about 4,000 meters south of the divide or crest, and about 6,000 meters north of the divide (bottom of image), in the rain shadow. We always used the V-shaped valley as a pointer to find Everest from our orbital vantage point, 220 nautical miles up. (NASA STS080-733-001–19 Nov.-7 Dec. 1996)

My Key West entry comes 21 years after our STS-80 flight aboard Columbia: 18 days of complex satellite operations and maneuvers, coupled with outstanding opportunities for Earth photography.

I’ve been to Key West several times; the city is now in the middle of its recovery from Hurricane Irma in 2017. The Keys and their surrounding waters are one of an astronaut’s favorite terrestrial landmarks. Haven’t had my last visit to the Keys, or its fresh seafood restaurants and Cuban-style coffee.

NASA caption: The view shows the city of Key West, bottom mid-right, with Marathon Key, near top middle left, and the edge of the Straits of Florida, the dark water on the right edge. Clouds form over the cooler waters of the strait. The runways at Boca Chica Key Naval Air Station are seen near Key West. The bottom can be seen clearly in the shallow water, the deeper water has depths of over a half a mile. The thin line of the Overseas Highway can be traced east from Key West. Prior to a hurricane in 1935, this route was a railway line.

www.AstronautTomJones.com

The Pic Tousside volcano on the Tibesti Plateau in northern Chad, photographed from STS-80, Columbia. (NASA sts080-722-13)Crossing the Sahara wastes in orbit on Columbia, our crew captured this view of the Pic Tousside volcano, using a 250mm lens on a Hasselblad 70mm film camera. The volcano is an eye-catching landmark on the way from Morocco to the Nile Valley. Note the numerous cinder cones at the top of the photo on the mountain slopes; the black basalt lava flows are running downhill, of course.

NASA’s Earth Observatory site says the following:

The Tibesti Mountain Range in northern Chad is one of the world’s least-studied volcanic regions. A look at the area from space, however, must intrigue volcanologists. One of the Tibesti Mountain’s features is Tarso Toussidé.

Looking like the result of a giant inkwell tipped on its side, Tarso Toussidé underwent a violent eruption in the recent geologic past, and the remains of that eruption have stained the ground black. The volcano ejected tephra, fragments of rock and volcanic glass, lava, and ash. Tephra does not last on the landscape as long as consolidated volcanic rocks such as tuff or lava, so the presence of tephra suggests fairly recent activity. In the middle of the field of dark tephra is Pic Toussidé, a lava dome poking out of the current caldera.

Volcanoes often sport multiple calderas, particularly as the primary site for eruptive activity shifts over time. East of Pic Toussidé are two calderas, the southern one bearing a white splotch roughly 2 kilometers long. This white color could result from salt. Water pooling in the caldera would not have an outlet, and as the water evaporated, minerals such as salt would be left behind.

www.AstronautTomJones.com

My Columbia crewmates and I took this shot on STS-80 with a 70mm Hasselblad film camera using a 100mm lens. On December 5, 1996, our altitude over the northeastern plains of India was about 185 nm. Master geologist and astronaut instructor Bill Muehlberger wrote the caption above; Bill helped teach the Apollo astronauts their geology skills, and he took my Hairball astronaut class to the field in New Mexico to teach similar lessons. At the southern base of the Himalaya (bottom center) is the Brahmaputra River, flowing from east to west (right to left) on its way to join the Ganges. The Brahmaputra River (also called as “Burlung-Buthur” by the Bodo people of Assam), called Yarlung Tsangpo in Tibetan language, originates on the Chemayungdung Glacier located on the northern side of the Himalayas in Tibet. The river is 3,848 km (2,391 mi) long. The river flows around and through the eastern ranges of the Himalaya and returns in the lower part of the photo, flowing to the west, to join the Ganges.

The Tibetan Plateau is the tan area at upper left. The spidery lake at left edge of the photo is Yamzha Yumco. Lhasa, Tibet lies just to the north. The Jiali tectonic fault slashes across Tibet from upper left to right. At far right center, the Brahmaputra emerges from the mountain front and carries an immense load of silt and sand toward the Bay of Bengal in the Indian Ocean. Geologists estimate that the Brahmaputra transports approximately 13 million tons of suspended sediment per day during floods. This is one corner of the world where erosion is tearing the Himalaya down almost as fast as they are pushed skyward.

This STS-80 Columbia image, shot with a 250mm lens on a Hasselblad 70mm body, shows one of our favorite Sahara targets, the Aorounga impact crater, which may be a chain of 3 circular impact craters. Radar images from STS-59, Space Radar Lab 1 (April 1994, my first mission), revealed what looks like two smaller craters to the northeast. This entire frame is about 25 miles across.

From NASA’s Earth Observatory: Aorounga Impact Crater is located in the Sahara Desert, in north-central Chad, and is one of the best-preserved impact structures in the world. The crater is thought to be middle or upper Devonian to lower Mississippian (approximately 345–370 million years old) based on the age of the sedimentary rocks deformed by the impact. Spaceborne Imaging Radar (SIR) data collected in 1994 suggests that Aorounga is one of a set of three craters formed by the same impact event. The other two suggested impact structures are buried by sand deposits.

The concentric ring structure of the Aorounga crater—renamed Aorounga South in the multiple-crater interpretation of SIR data—is clearly visible in this detailed astronaut photograph. The central highland, or peak, of the crater is surrounded by a small sand-filled trough; this in turn is surrounded by a larger circular trough. Linear rock ridges alternating with light orange sand deposits cross the image from upper left to lower right; these are called yardangs by geomorphologists. Yardangs form by wind erosion of exposed rock layers in a unidirectional wind field. The wind blows from the northeast at Aorounga, and sand dunes formed between the yardangs are actively migrating to the southwest.

 

We took this image from Columbia on November 24, 1996, from an altitude of 188 nautical miles. Mount Pinatubo is an active stratovolcano on the island of Luzon, in the Philippines. On all my flights (which all came after the 1991 eruption), I’ve observed the downhill migration of volcanic ash from the summit and its crater lake. The crater lake and mud flows are seen very well here, after the 1996 monsoon season. Note the now-closed Clark Air Force Base (and now reopened commercial airport) on the plains at lower right.

From Wikipedia: Before 1992, Pinatubo was heavily eroded, inconspicuous, and obscured from view. It was covered with dense forest which supported a population of several thousand indigenous Aetas people.

The volcano’s eruption on June 15, 1991 produced the second largest terrestrial eruption of the 20th century (after the 1912 eruption of Novarupta in the Alaska Peninsula). Complicating the eruption was the arrival of Typhoon Yunya (Diding), bringing a lethal mix of ash and rain to areas surrounding the volcano. Predictions at the onset of the climactic eruption led to the evacuation of tens of thousands of people from the surrounding areas, saving many lives. Surrounding areas were severely damaged by pyroclastic flows, ash deposits, and, subsequently, by the lahars caused by rainwaters re-mobilizing earlier volcanic deposits. This caused extensive destruction to infrastructure and changed river systems for years after the eruption.

The volcano’s Plinian / Ultra-Plinian eruption on June 15, 1991 produced the second largest terrestrial eruption of the 20th century after the 1912 eruption of Novarupta in the Alaska Peninsula.^[6] Complicating the eruption was the arrival of Typhoon Yunya (Diding), bringing a lethal mix of ash and rain to areas surrounding the volcano. Predictions at the onset of the climactic eruption led to the evacuation of tens of thousands of people from the surrounding areas, saving many lives. Surrounding areas were severely damaged by pyroclastic flows, ash deposits, and, subsequently, by the lahars caused by rainwaters re-mobilizing earlier volcanic deposits. This caused extensive destruction to infrastructure and changed river systems for years after the eruption.^[6][7]

NASA text by my colleague, volcanologist Dr. Cindy Evans: In early 1991, Mt. Pinatubo, a volcano north of Manila on the Philippine island of Luzon, had been dormant for more than 500 years. Few geologists would have guessed that it would produce one of the world’s most explosive eruptions in the twentieth century. Indications of unrest started a few months before the June 1991 eruption, but the size and impact of the eruption were completely unexpected. During the June 12-15 eruptive climax, the top of the mountain was blown off, lowering the elevation by roughly 150 m. About 8 to 10 km² of material (Scott, et al., 1996) spewed out of the volcano onto the surrounding slopes. The eruption forced evacuation of more than 50,000 people, and effectively shut down two major US military bases (Clark Air Force Base and Subic Bay Naval Base); it was ultimately responsible for taking several hundred human lives.

Before the eruption, Mt. Pinatubo was a forested, deeply dissected and unimposing mountain on Luzon’s Bataan Peninsula. Although the upper slopes were steep and not well suited for agriculture, the lower slopes were heavily populated and supported extensive rice fields.

During the eruption, the upper slopes of the mountain suffered immediate destruction. The climactic explosions of June 14–16, 1991, blasted away the summit of Pinatubo, blew down surrounding forests, and rained hundreds of cubic meters of loose sand and gravel down on the mountain’s upper slopes. Floods of hot volcanic slurries were responsible for long-lasting damage downslope.

Astronauts did not observe the June 1991 eruption of the volcano—but they have routinely monitored subsequent changes around Mt. Pinatubo. The eruption had two major environmental effects which are readily documented from low-Earth orbit: the distribution of vast quantities of sulfur dioxide aerosols into the stratosphere; and the post-eruption mudflows, or lahars, which are recognized as the major natural hazard from the eruption.

This  image of Ayers Rock and the Olgas (Uluru and Kata Tjuta) and the surrounding terrain was captured by the crew of space shuttle Columbia during the STS-80 mission; it was taken on Dec. 6, 1996, from an altitude of 202 nautical miles.  We always looked for a chance to shoot Uluru on our passes over Australia, and this was a particularly nice pass, captured with a 100mm Hasselblad lens on 70mm film. I trained for both my Space Radar Lab missions at Ayers Rock and the Olgas with a NASA team flying the agency’s DC-8 aircraft out of nearby Alice Springs. Fellow STS-59 astronaut Linda Godwin and I drove 5 hours from Alice Springs to visit these famous rock formations. In this image, Uluru is at right, with Kata Tjuta and its highest promontory, Mt. Olga, on the left. Lake Amadeus is at top.

From NASA’s “Visible Earth” website: Seen from ground level, this majestic sandstone rock formation stands 348 meters (1,120 feet) tall and is 3 kilometers (1.85 miles) long. Uluru is the ancient name used by Indigenous Australians; Ayers Rock is the name that was given to the landform by explorer William Christie Gosse in the 1800s. Uluru is one of Australia’s major tourist attractions (more than 270,000 visitors in 2014), with operations run by people from the small town of Mutitjulu. A 16-kilometer (10-mile) road circles the rock, and a disused airstrip lies near the town.

Uluru and a similar striking landform known as Kata Tjuta (Mount Olga) are part of the Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park, created as a UNESCO site in 1994 for cultural preservation and protection. Uluru and Kata Tjuta are remnants of sediments eroded from an ancient mountain range that existed about 550 million years ago. The sediments were subsequently buried and compressed to form harder rocks—called arkose and conglomerate by geologists. These rocks were later tilted from their original horizontal orientation by powerful tectonic forces. Views from above now clearly show the hundreds of originally flat-lying layers that make up Uluru. Softer and younger sedimentary rocks were then eroded away, leaving the more resistant rocks exposed to form the present-day landforms.

Uluru is thought by native peoples to have been created by ancestral beings during the Dreamtime, which has been described as the essence of aboriginal culture and spirituality. The rock is regarded as one of the ancestors’ most impressive pieces of work. Ancient paintings throughout its caves and fissures describe this relationship, keeping Dreamtime traditions alive. The proximity of the Mutitjulu settlement to the rock symbolizes the spiritual connection between the local people and Uluru.

From NASA’s Earth Observatory website: In the heart of the Australian Outback, a massive block of red sandstone rises up out of the near-perfect flatness of the eroded landscape. Called Uluru, or Ayer’s Rock, this giant is a monolith 348 meters (1,142 feet) high, 3.6 kilometers (2.2 miles) long, and 9.4 kilometers (5.8 miles) around. It is the largest single rock known in the world. Tourists come from all over the country and the world to watch sunrise and sunset bring the colors of the rock to life.

Centered in the scene, Uluru appears a more subdued orange-red than the surrounding desert soils. These reddish soils and their location in the heart of the Outback give rise to the region’s nickname as Australia’s “Red Center.” Trees and other vegetation surround the base of the rock, giving the impression of streams of turquoise waters flowing out of the rock. The rock is carved and scoured by eons of erosion by wind and water. To the Aboriginal people, many of these features are part of the religious mythology through which they describe their existence and history in the region.

…Located in the Northern Territory of Australia, Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park hosts some of the world’s most spectacular examples of inselbergs, or isolated mountains. The most famous of these inselbergs is Uluru (also known as Ayers Rock). An equally massive inselberg located approximately 30 kilometers (20 miles) to the northwest is known as Kata Tjuta. Like Uluru, this is a sacred site to the native Anangu or Aboriginal people. An English-born explorer named the highest peak Mount Olga, with the entire grouping of rocks informally known as “the Olgas.” Mount Olga has a peak elevation of 1,069 meters (3,507 feet) above sea level, making it 206 meters (676 feet) higher than Uluru.

Kata Tjuta is comprised of gently dipping Mount Currie Conglomerate, a sedimentary rock that includes rounded fragments of other rock types (here, primarily granite with less abundant basalt and rhyolite in a coarse sandy matrix). Geologists interpret the Mount Currie Conglomerate as a remnant of a large fan of material rapidly eroded from mountains uplifted approximately 550 million years ago. Subsequent burial under younger sediments consolidated the eroded materials to form the conglomerate exposed at the surface today.

Runways of the shuttle landing facility (top center) and Cape Canaveral Air Force Station’s “Skid Strip” (near the tip of Cape Canaveral) are visible. At top center are the shuttle launch pads, 39A and 39B; we launched from Pad 39B (northernmost/topmost pad). Indian River is at left, the Banana River at right, next to the Cape. The old ICBM Row launch pads (Mercury and Gemini) are clearly visible north of Cape Canaveral. I left Earth four times from this place–pretty special.

Monterrey is the capital and largest city of the northeastern state of Nuevo León, in Mexico. The city is anchor to the third-largest metropolitan area in Mexico and is ranked as the ninth-largest city in the nation. Monterrey is located in northeast Mexico, at the foothills of the Sierra Madre Oriental.

Monterrey Image Caption (NASA): Potrero Garcia and Potrero La Mula are breached salt-cored folds immediately north of the Sierra Madre Oriental and Monterrey. [Portrero Garcia is the triangular formation at upper left.–TJ] Individual limestone layers can be resolved in this beautifully detailed view, as can the tilt of the layers outward from the center of the fold (anticline). Most of the salt has been eroded from the core of the structure, but what remains is now being mined. In Las Grutas de Garcia (Garcia Caverns) the limestone bedrock has been dissolved and both limestone and gypsum formations decorate the cave.

Our STS-80 crew took this shot of Great Exuma Island and the Tongue of the Ocean on Dec. 3, 1996, from 185 nautical miles above the Bahamas. This is one of the loveliest ocean areas visible to orbiting astronauts.

A NASA caption says:  This extraordinary image captures the meeting place of the deep waters of the Tongue of the Ocean and the much shallower, completely submerged Grand Bahama Bank. This platform reef drops off quickly into the branch of the Great Bahama submarine canyon that because of its shape is called the Tongue of the Ocean. The vertical rock walls of the Canyon rise 14,060 feet from their greatest depth to the surrounding seabed, which is why the water is so dark in color compared to the reef. The shallowest parts of the reef are no more than three to seven feet deep; so shallow, in fact, that in the northeast corner of the image you can zoom in and see large wave-sized ripples of sand on the bottom. Like so many other biological structures, the ribbon-like form of the reef maximizes surface area and thus the number of organisms that can colonize the structure. The closest land is the Bahama Islands of Great Exuma, less than 16 miles to the east [right side of the image], and Andros about 27 miles to the west.

 

Another look at the Bahamas, this time Eleuthera Island. We were always captivated by the deep, indigo waters of the abyss surrounding the calcium carbonate coral sands of the shallows surrounding the islands. I hope to stand someday on an Eleuthera beach.

From NASA:  Turquoise, deep green, light blue, and bright sapphire blue colors combine in the waters surrounding the Bahamas to stand out against the deeper blue of the Atlantic Ocean. Because the 700 islands and islets sit on an underwater plateaus (called “banks”), the waters of the Bahamas are very shallow, ranging from barely covering the ocean floor to 25 meters in depth. (NASA)

East of southern Florida, large swaths of ocean water glow peacock blue. These waters owe their iridescence to their shallow depths. Near Florida and Cuba, the underwater terrain is hilly, and the crests of many of these hills comprise the islands of the Bahamas.  The varied colors of these banks suggest their surfaces are somewhat uneven. The banks’ distinct contours, sharply outlined in dark blue, indicate that the ocean floor drops dramatically around them. In fact, over the banks, the water depth is often less than 10 meters (33 feet), but the surrounding basin plunges to depths as low as 4,000 meters (13,100 feet). (NASA)

Eleuthera is approximately 150 km long from north to south and, except for the northern and southern ends, is an average of 3-5 km wide. The countryside primarily consists of rolling hills and valleys studded with tranquil lakes and woodlands. The coasts alternate between high steep cliffs and beautify beaches. (Thomas M. Iliffe — Texas A&M University at Galveston)

 

From 187 nautical miles up, our Columbia crew imaged the island of Maui and Kahoolawe (lower left) on Nov. 25, 1996. Lanai is to the far left. The West Maui volcano is under clouds, but the sharply incised ravines running down to Lahaina and Kanaapali Beach show how much rainfall the mountain intercepts. Central Maui is clear, as are the resorts along the west-facing South Maui coast. Kahului airport is visible on the north central coast. The green slopes of Haleakala volcano (dormant) are visible at right. Haleakala National Park includes the volcano’s summit, at about 10,000 feet. A line of cinder cones follows the southwest rift zone up to the summit; darker, more recent lava flows mark the site of the most recent eruption on Maui, just before 1800 on the southwest tip of the island opposite Kaho’olawe. Haleakala’s summit caldera has been heavily eroded by heavy rains, creating a wide summit valley that drains both to the south, north, and east.

NASA’s Earth Observatory says:

In 1907, writer Jack London scaled a towering mountain in eastern Maui, the second largest of the Hawaiian Islands. When he reached the top and looked east, he was confronted with an otherworldly scene. “Far above us was the heaven-towering horizon, and far beneath us, where the top of the mountain peak should have been, was a deeper deep, the great crater, the House of the Sun,” London wrote. “The tie-ribs of earth lay bare before us. It was a workshop of nature still cluttered with the raw beginnings of world-making.”

That is not to say the area is not rich with signs of volcanic activity. “This floor, broken by lava flows, and cinder cones, was as red and fresh and uneroded as if were but yesterday that the fires went out,” London noted. “The cinder-cones, the smallest over four-hundred feet in height and the largest over nine-hundred, seemed no more than puny little sand hills, so mighty was the magnitude of the setting.”

…There is less vegetation in the valley—which comprises much of the national park—than to the north and east of the mountain because the valley lies in a rain shadow. Prevailing winds drop rain on the eastern and northern sides of the mountains because moisture gets squeezed from the air as it flows up and over the slopes. The cinder cones—steep conical hills around volcanic vents—appear as small mounds in the middle of the valley.

While London was correct that the lava flows are young, his time scale was a bit off. According to the U.S. Geological Survey, radiocarbon dating suggestions that the most recent eruption occurred between 1480 and 1600. The oldest exposed flows are 1.1 million years old, though geologists think the shield volcano began building itself up about two million years ago.

Haleakalā National Park was created on August 1, 1916, as part of Hawaii National Park. At that time, the park also included Kilauea and Mauna Loa. However, in 1961, the volcanoes of Hawaii and Maui were separated into different parks. The name Haleakalā is Hawaiian for “House of the Sun.” In Hawaiian mythology, a god named Maui climbed the mountain and lassoed the Sun’s rays to lengthen the day.

Our photo from STS-80 shows the lower tip of the Sinai Peninsula in Egypt. Mt.Sinai is just to the right of upper center amid a welter of crustal faults. Mount Sinai is a 2,285-metre (7,497 ft) moderately high mountain near the city of Saint Catherine in the Sinai region. It is next to Mount Catherine (at 2,629 m or 8,625 ft, the highest peak in Egypt). It is surrounded on all sides by higher peaks of the mountain range. (Wiki) North is at top right.

From NASA’s caption: Low sun angle and excellent focus reveal details of three prominent sets of faults and fractures (and subordinate ones) in the 500-600-million-year-old bedrock of the Sinai Peninsula. Displacement as great as 4000 m is documented on faults in the southwest. Younger, more northerly faults crosscut those of northeasterly and northwesterly trend; the younger faults reflect a change in the direction of extension in the Red Sea rift from NE (55 degrees) at ~25 million years ago to almost N (10-20 degrees) at present.

When our two spacewalks were cancelled on STS-80 due to a jammed hatch, we were at least partially compensated with two loosely scheduled days in our flight plan. We took full advantage of our Earth viewing opportunities and captured scenes like the one above. “Serenity” would be a good adjective for the feeling evoked by memories of this view.

NASA’s caption reads: STS080-759-075 (19 Nov.-7 Dec. 1996) — This 70mm handheld camera’s panoramic view was photographed by the STS-80 crewmembers to capture the aesthetic side of space travel. The scene was in the South Pacific Ocean southwest of Hawaii and west of Christmas Island. The viewing angle from the space shuttle Columbia and the sunglint phenomenon gives the picture an almost three-dimensional effect.

 

Our nearly 18 days in space gave us a chance to watch the moon cycle through over half its orbit around Earth. From the flight deck windows, the moon to us seemed close enough to touch. I think we will finally see Americans and our partners return to the moon’s surface within a decade, perhaps by 2027.

NASA caption: STS080-759-038 (19 Nov.-7 Dec. 1996) — As photographed by the crewmembers aboard the space shuttle Columbia, a full moon is about to set beyond the limb of Earth. A full moon should be round but when it is near the limb, or edge of Earth, the atmosphere tends to distort the shape. The atmosphere, stratosphere, ionosphere is in reality acting as a lens, thus the distorted shape of the Moon. As the Moon reaches the Earth’s horizon it will become “egg shaped”.

Our STS-80 crew obtained this photo of the Nile Valley and the Egyptian capital of Cairo, at bottom center. The arrow I’ve added points to the small, lighter patch of desert where the three great pyramids of Giza are located. Cairo is the gray urban area stretching right across the Nile flood plain to the main river channel. I can recall searching diligently for the pyramids with my telephoto lens, but never being quite sure I’d nailed them. If you zoom in on this digital image, you can make out the shadows of the two largest pyramids, those of Khufu and Khafre. ISS crews today get much better photos with their digital cameras and 80mm zoom lenses. This shot was taken on 35mm film with a 400mm lens.

NASA captions: The Great Pyramids at Giza are the last of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World and perhaps the most famous of the ancient monuments in the Nile River Delta of Egypt. They are also a favorite subject of photography from orbit. It is a short distance between the glories of ancient Egypt and the modern Cairo metropolitan area to the north and east. The buildings and streets of El Giza provide stark contrast to the bare rock and soil of the adjacent desert.

Giza is a royal burial place, commissioned and built by pharaohs during the fourth dynasty around 2550 BC. Started by Khufu, continued by his son Khafre (Khafre pyramid and the Sphinx), and later by his son, Menkaure, the complex also includes many tombs and temples for queens, other members of royal families, and royal attendants.

Today, Giza is a rapidly growing region of Cairo. Population growth in Egypt continues to soar, leading to new construction. New roads for large new developments are obvious in the desert hills northwest and southwest of the pyramids. Documenting patterns of urban growth around the world is a prime science objective for astronaut photography, now from the Space Station.

AstronautTomJones.com

 

We are standing in front of the external tank on the ET Hydrogen Vent Umbilical and Intertank Access arm, at the 167-foot level on Pad 39B.

 

Above: Our first task after launch was to deploy the ORFEUS-SPAS satellite on Flight Day 1, so it could begin its astronomical observations. NASA Caption: Built by the German Space Agency, DARA, the ORFEUS-SPAS II, a free-flying satellite, was dedicated to astronomical observations at very short wavelengths to: investigate the nature of hot stellar atmospheres, investigate the cooling mechanisms of white dwarf stars, determine the nature of accretion disks around collapsed stars, investigate supernova remnants, and investigate the interstellar medium and potential star-forming regions. Some 422 observations of almost 150 astronomical objects were completed, including the Moon, nearby stars, distant Milky Way stars, stars in other galaxies, active galaxies, and quasar 3C273.

Here, Tammy has ORFEUS-SPAS firmly in the grasp of the robot arm, ready for release.

 

During our approach to pick up the Orbiting Retrievable Far and Extreme Ultraviolet Spectrometer – Shuttle Pallet Satellite (ORFEUS-SPAS) on flight day 15, Astronaut Tamara E. Jernigan, STS-80 mission specialist, uses a laser ranging device to check range and closure rate. ORFEUS-SPAS performed two weeks of astronomy observations during our mission. Tammy was the lead RMS operator for deployment and retrieval of the spacecraft.

 

Below, a lovely view of Earth’s surface at sunset, with thunderstorms casting long shadows.

 

 

Tom controls arm for Wakeshield retrieval on STS-80 (NASA sts080-330-023)

In the photo above, I operate the Remote Manipulator System (RMS) controls during retrieval of the Wake Shield Facility (WSF). When this picture was taken, the free-flying WSF satellite–deployed for three days of orbital operations behind our orbiter– was already in the grasp of the RMS’ end effector, as evidenced by the video displayed on Columbia’s aft flight deck monitor behind my head. Taken 11/25/96.

 

On 11/26/96, I regrappled the Wake Shield and maneuvered it above the payload bay during tests of our Space Vision System, using video cameras and laptop computers to image the black dots on the spacecraft and compute the 3D position of the satellite. The SVS would later be used to help assemble the International Space Station.

 

In the photo below, Tammy and I prepare our spacesuits and tools for our Flight Day 10 spacewalk (first of two planned EVAs), scheduled for Thursday, Nov. 28, 1996. The night before the EVA, our tools, suits, and associated gear nearly fill up the middeck. That’s Story with the pen in the foreground, running us through the EVA prep checklist. As one of the astronauts who’d fixed the Hubble telescope, Story was the man you wanted coaching you through a spacewalk.

 

In Columbia’s airlock, Story Musgrave (hands at left) is pulling on Tammy’s right glove as we ready for our Thanksgiving spacewalk on Nov. 28, 1996. (It was thwarted by a loose screw that jammed the airlock outer hatch mechanism.) Tammy was EV-1, the lead spacewalker; note the red stripe on her suit backpack. Connected to her suit’s DCU (display and control unit, on her chest) is the service and cooling umbilical (SCU), bringing ship’s power, oxygen, and water to the spacesuit while in the airlock. We would remove that connection just before opening the outer hatch at vacuum. Her backpack portable life support system (PLS) is still mounted to the airlock wall. Story would release the backpack from the wall mount before exiting the airlock and closing the hatch leading to the middeck.

 

With tools, cameras, and body restraint tethers, we were loaded for bear for this EVA. It’s amazing that we could actually maneuver inside that shower-stall-sized airlock, but free fall gave us full access to the head space in the airlock, easing the crowding problem.

Story and I are enjoying breakfast in the galley on Columbia’s middeck, port side. Columbia’s nose is to the right. That gray drawer suspended at upper right is a food tray containing a few days’ worth of meals. I’m having a breakfast burrito of sausage and eggs. Story has an oatmeal package in his hand. Our food trash will go in that clear plastic bag on the left side near the airlock. Just behind us is a blue stack of drawers called the MAR, the middeck accommodations rack, with a food tray and drink bags velcroed to it. Behind story to the left is the open door to the bathroom, the WCS (waste collection system) compartment.

One of my jobs on the STS-80 mission was to manage the overall wiring setup for our many combinations of cameras, video recorders, laptops, and Space Vision System video processors. Here you see me with the labyrinthine Photo-TV checklist on Columbia’s starboard side, aft flight deck (payload bay windows to right). The black box is a video tape recorder, or VTR. A Canon video camera is just to the right of my chin. The “4-5-6-7” pouches contain the Sky Genie escape ropes that we’d use to exit the flight deck out the overhead window, after a landing emergency. (Not much call for those ropes 220 miles up). That’s a St. Christopher (patron saint of travelers) medallion floating on a silver chain around my neck.

Taco washes his hair using rinseless shampoo. Fill a shampoo pouch with hot water, squirt onto scalp, lather up. Dry with a clean towel (seen at upper right). Comb or brush. Taco here is on the middeck, with the side hatch area behind him. On an 18-day mission, personal hygiene in Columbia’s small cabin was an important obligation, especially after a workout.

 

With Earth visible over Story’s shoulder, he monitors the Wake Shield satellite trailing us on Columbia by about 30 miles. The commander’s orange pack parachute is visible at left. Story had mounted his Wake Shield laptop atop the pilot’s (Kent Rominger’s) seat back, a perch only possible in free fall. The laptop received data from Wake Shield via an output cable from the shuttle’s Pulse-Code Modulation Master Unit, the PCMMU (puck-a-moo).

 

Above — This was a nice moment in the flight. As NASA wrote:  “Astronauts Kenneth D. Cockrell, STS-80 mission commander, and Tamara E. Jernigan, payload commander, share a moment of off-duty time with astronaut Story Musgrave on the middeck of the Earth-orbiting space shuttle Columbia. Musgrave was making his sixth flight aboard the Space Shuttle as a mission specialist. His fellow crewmembers presented him with a patch that reads, “Master of Space.” Before and during his 30 years with NASA, Musgrave obtained several academic degrees, including several Masters, a medical doctorate and a Ph.D.”

Story is wearing that patch on his polo shirt. His four crewmates all participated in awarding Story this honor. As we encountered problems and challenges on this mission, we could always rely on his experience to put things in perspective and come up with creative solutions. Story is still a great mentor and friend.

On Columbia’s middeck, Story helps Ken Cockrell don his launch and entry suit (LES). Story is forward at the middeck lockers; Taco is near the port-side hatch, over there to the left of the blue MAR rack. Story’s reentry seat next to the MAR is already installed to Taco’s right (he didn’t sit in it during reentry). The circular, clear cover at upper left is the UV hatch filter usually installed over the side hatch window. At far left is the gray metal box containing the escape pole, rigged for bailout in an emergency. Those blue velcro squares below it are on the hatch surface itself, which in flight is part of the waste collection system compartment–the shuttle’s bathroom.

Rommel and Tammy work on the starboard side of the middeck with the Capillary Action Pumped Loop science payload. They are taking video and watching one of the experimental runs, showing fluid in motion in free fall via capillary action, a possible system for removing heat using a working fluid without moving parts, like motors and pumps. Experiments like these were a daily activity for all of us aboard Columbia.

In this shot I’m “standing” next to my flight deck seat (left) on entry day. No doubt that is the deorbit prep checklist I’m holding. I’m wearing my launch and entry suit; I’ve got the parachute harness on already; the ‘chute is already in place on the seat. Hung on the side of the seat is my gray intercom box and a thermoelectric chiller to circulate cold water through my long underwear during reentry. Over on the port side (right) is a gray Canon video camera. Those windows behind me look back into the payload bay. Surrounding me are the hundreds of switches and controls of the aft flight deck–part of our home for 18 days on the STS-80 mission.

On Columbia’s middeck, mission specialist astronaut Tammy Jernigan has just finished washing her hair. She’s using the life support system’s fresh air outlet hose (which everyone calls the elephant trunk) to speed the drying process considerably. Unfortunately for her, it’s not hot air–just cool, clean, conditioned air. The forward equipment lockers are to the left, our sleeping bunks at rear, and the airlock just out of view to the right. Note the meal pouches waiting for preparation at lower right. Behind Tammy’s head you can see one of our individual toiletry kits, a Personal Hygiene Kit, or PHK. Below Tammy’s left elbow is a stowage bag, probably holding some of our dirty laundry after nearly 18 days in orbit.

 

As we prepared for entry–three times!–we set up Columbia for her return to Earth and got dressed for our trip back through the atmosphere to KSC. Here Taco is wearing his base layer of long johns, plus our water-cooled Patagonia underwear, as he works through the Entry Prep Checklist. His parachute is already in the seat; his suit is waiting downstairs in the middeck. A snack of dried apricots is velcroed on the dash. All those cardboard cue cards are memory aids for reentry, everything from “go–no-go” equipment lists to test piloting tasks to perform during the hypersonic phases of our descent. By the time we actually got weather good enough to return to Florida, we’d rehearsed this twice and were ready for the real thing on Dec. 7, 1996.

Above, we see Taco rigged up for entry–maybe he and Story are both all grins because the weather’s looking decent at KSC (finally). Taco in his ACES suit is wearing his parachute harness with chest life preserver; the ‘chute itself is still up in his commander’s seat. Story’s seat is just behind Taco, and Story will plan to get dressed once he’s got the flight deck bunch suited up. This view is from starboard looking to port on the middeck. The side hatch is at far left. (added 12/7/18)

 

 

 

 

Was this a terrific moment? From the flight engineer’s seat (MS-2), I could feel Columbia settling gently toward the xenon-lit runway ahead, with Taco handling the landing beautifully. Rommel was calling out the speed and altitude–we were right on the profile.

NASA Caption: Just prior to dawn, the space shuttle Columbia heads for a landing on Runway 33 at the Kennedy Space Center’s (KSC) Shuttle Landing Facility (SLF) to successfully complete a 17-day mission. Landing occurred just before dawn, at 6:49 a.m. (EST). The landing was the 33rd at KSC for the Space Transportation System (STS). Crew members on STS-80 were astronauts Kenneth D. Cockrell, mission commander; and Kent V. Rominger, pilot; along with Story Musgrave, Tamara E. Jernigan and Thomas D. Jones, all mission specialists.

Above: I was sitting just behind Taco and Rommel as they flew our near-perfect spaceship to a smooth landing at Kennedy Space Center. Taco’s touchdown was so smooth that none of us could truly tell the wheels were actually on the concrete. I had to look for the on-screen indication that the flight computers had received a touchdown message from the landing gear squat switches. Grease job! Well done!

Above: Smoke bursts from our main landing gear tires as they kiss the concrete at about 220 knots. Taco brought the ship to a stop and exclaimed: “My knees are shaking!” He was experiencing that blast of adrenaline released on final approach; now that we were stopped, he could enjoy the special satisfaction of a great landing. Right behind him, I joined in the crew’s exhilaration. Back on Earth after 18 days–longest shuttle mission in history!

 

Our beautiful spacecraft, Columbia, at rest after nearly 18 days in orbit. The ground support convoy has joined us to inspect and shape the orbiter, and ready her for crew exit. Oh, and the sun is coming up!

For a commander like Taco, there’s no better feeling than having brought a $2-billion spaceship and crew back for a perfect landing.

Rommel is just behind Story as he feels the heat still emanating from Columbia’s reinforced carbon-carbon nose. He’s looking pretty good at age 61. Here’s what NASA said:

“His last spaceflight behind him, STS-80 Mission Specialist Story Musgrave takes one last look at the orbiter Columbia parked on Runway 33 of KSC’s Shuttle Landing Facility. Musgrave became at age 61 the oldest human being to fly into space and in completing his sixth spaceflight ties astronaut John Young’s record for most human spaceflight, while also setting a new record for most Shuttle flights. Columbia touched down at 6:49:05 a.m. EST, Dec. 7, wrapping up Mission STS-80 and the final Shuttle flight of 1996.”

Story is a man for the record books. He flew on all five shuttle orbiters.

 

Inspection of the orbiter complete, our crew–on gimpy legs–prepares to board the Astrovan for our trip back to crew quarters and a reunion with our families. I wondered if that airlock hatch was still jammed.

Above, worries about the jammed hatch and lost spacewalks disappear when I rejoin Liz, Bryce, and Annie. Best…moment….ever.

Three of our crew visited the factory in Promontory where our flown STS-80 boosters had been returned for cleaning, disassembly, and reuse. We are standing by the aft end of our booster; the nozzle was jettisoned during descent to splashdown, and the aft skirt has been removed. Inside, the rubber insulation lining the steel booster casings is visible. The exhaust temperature of the booster in flight is about 5,000 degrees F, while the insulated steel of the casings never gets above ambient temperature during firing. An engineer told us that as far as the steel was concerned, the stresses of STS-80 launch, ascent and booster splashdown made for an unremarkable, “ho-hum” day. The people who built and prepared these boosters for flight held our lives in their hands, and we are still grateful for their professionalism and expertise. Longer, five-segment boosters like our four-segment shuttle boosters will power the mammoth Space Launch System rocket.

 

STS-80 Launch

Earth Views from STS-80

STS-80 Mission Highlights

www.AstronautTomJones.com

 

As flight engineer, I sat just beneath the flight deck’s overhead windows, Windows 7 and 8. At liftoff, I used my kneeboard mirror to look over my shoulder and down into the flame trench. I caught a shocking glimpse of the three main engines hurling tons of steam and water across the pad. Then a white-hot burst of light lit up the firebrick trench as the boosters ignited. I was only too happy to avert my gaze from the violence outside and get my eyes back on the CRTs on the instrument panel. My job was to confirm, at liftoff, that the flight software had moded over to “Ops 102,” first stage. I confirmed that indication on the screen and called”102-102,” but I’m afraid it came out a bit garbled from the jolt of liftoff and the excitement of seeing our 4.5-million-pound ship leap from the mobile launch platform. We were committed!

In the tracking camera shot above, note the flames recirculating about the base of the external tank. We were at about 2.5 g’s at this point, heading toward a booster burnout altitude of about 30 miles, at nearly 3000 mph. The mid-afternoon sun lights the orbiter as we head east into our 28.5-degree inclination orbit.

During Columbia’s launch, a 16mm film camera captured solid rocket booster separation and external tank separation. This frame shows the left SRB peeling up and away from the external tank amid a white plume of exhaust from the nose separation motors. Inside the flight deck, we had just seen a brilliant flash from the ignition of those same motors, and a loud “CRACK!” as explosive bolts severed the structural links between booster and tank. Our ride instantly became smoother as Columbia powered ahead on the thrust of its liquid-fueled, space shuttle main engines. Acceleration had dropped back to just over 1 g, 2 minutes into the flight.

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Mission Highlights STS-80

November 1996

(Published by NASA Johnson Space Center in early 1997, and transcribed by me for posting here. Credit NASA)

Double deploys Highlight  Mission

An early morning landing of the Space Shuttle Columbia ended a more than 17-day mission to deploy and retrieve two science satellites, one that studied stars and another that made thin film wafers. Pilot Kent Rominger recounted how impressive it was to see the trailing satellites at sunrise. “It was incredible having two satellites out there at the same time. In the morning when the sun would rise, they were just tremendously bright stars, trailing along behind us.”

Mission Specialist Tamara Jernigan reflected on how a stuck hatch would give the space program an advantage in future flights. ”This flight offered all of us a bit of everything the space program has to offer,” Jernigan said. “It offered the excitement of two deploys, rendezvous and retrievals, and also the frustration of a hatch that wouldn’t open and EVAs left undone. I bet it is a long, long time before we ever have another hatch problem. NASA will make the most of the lesson it has learned.”

Mission Specialist Story Musgrave recounted that the long mission gave him a sense of what space is all about. ”This mission was long enough so you had some time to stop and think about what space was about,” Musgrave said. “Time to have an experience of space to explore the heavens, to explore the Earth and think about what that is all about and get a feel for space.”

In addition to setting a record for the longest shuttle flight to date, Astronaut Musgrave reached a few milestones for himself. His sixth shuttle flight tied him with John Young for the most space flights by any human being. In addition, at age 61, Musgrave became the oldest person ever to fly in space.

Mission Events

The Space Shuttle Columbia returned to space for the 21st time at 1:55 p.m. CST, November 19, 1996. Its scientific mission was to study stars, produce improved semiconductor films and practice building the International Space Station.

Mission specialist Tammy Jernigan released the Orbiting Retrievable Far and Extreme Ultraviolet Spectrometer (ORFEUS) from Columbia’ s robot arm November 20, about 10:11 p.m. CST. Three hours later, ground controllers observed the telescope door opening and noted that the instrument appeared to be working properly, beginning two weeks of gathering data on the origin and makeup of stars.

While Columbia led the ORFEUS­ SPAS spacecraft, the five astronauts concentrated their attention on other activities aboard the orbiter including testing the Space Vision System, conducting a visual checkout of the Wake Shield Facility (WSF) and working with middeck experiments. Other experiments conducted by the crew included VIEW-CPL, an investigation of capillary pumped loop equipment in weightlessness designed by University of Maryland students. Such technology may be used in cooling systems for future spacecraft, allowing fluids to be pumped without the use of moving parts.

Astronaut Tom Jones unberthed the WSF from its latched position in the shuttle cargo bay Friday, November 22, at 2:56 p.m.  Jones positioned the satellite over the left-hand edge of the cargo bay with the WSF underside facing into the direction of travel. This position allows atomic oxygen to “cleanse” the satellite’s underside in preparation for its experiment operations. The crew released the WSF at 7:38 p.m. CST.

The first growth of thin films on the back side of the WSF began Saturday, November 23, at 6:37 p.m. CST. The film growths continued while the WSF flew free of the Orbiter.

Commander Ken Cockrell took the shuttle to within 35 feet of the WSF Monday, November 25, and Astronaut Tom Jones latched the mechanical arm onto it about 8:01 p.m. CST. The satellite’s scientists reported they completed seven thin film growths of semiconductor materials, the maximum capability for the satellite.

The WSF again was unberthed at 6:06 p.m. CST November the 27, for 3.5 hours of work with the Atomic Oxygen Processing experiment. With work to produce aluminum oxide films using the atomic oxygen available in low-Earth orbit going well, scientists were granted an extra 3 hours to finish their work and test the Orbiter Space Vision System’s ability to provide precise information on the WSF’s position in the cargo bay.

Plans for a spacewalk by astronauts Tammy Jernigan and Tom Jones were abandoned after the airlock outer hatch failed to open. A post flight analysis of the hatch revealed a loose screw was the problem.

Although the planned space walks were canceled, crew members took advantage of the micro­gravity environment of space to evaluate the Pistol Grip Tool in the cabin. Jernigan, Jones and Musgrave evaluated the tool while tightening and loosening a bolt on the middeck floor to evaluate the tool’s operation in weightlessness.

Scientists were given an extra day of science gathering with the extension of the STS-80 mission. The ORFEUS­ SPAS satellite was captured from its orbit using the robotic arm about 2:26 a.m. CST, Wednesday December 3. Jernigan, Jones and Musgrave performed about four hours of robot arm operations with ORFEUS-SPAS prior to locking the satellite in the payload bay at 7:14 a.m.

A second extra day in space was granted to the five astronauts aboard Columbia when fog prevented a landing at Florida’s Kennedy Space Center and high winds on the Mojave Desert meant that Edwards Air Force Base also was not available. NASA’s final shuttle mission of 1996 concluded at 5:49 a.m. CST, December 7, with a landing at Kennedy Space Center.

Payload Descriptions

ORFEUS-SPAS II:  The Orbiting and Retrievable Far and Extreme Ultraviolet Spectrograph-Shuttle Pallet Satellite IT (ORFEUS-SPAS II) mission was the third flight to use the German-built ASTRO-SPAS science satellite. The ASTRO-SPAS program is a cooperative endeavor between NASA and the German Space Agency, DARA. ORFEUS-SPAS II, a free-flying satellite, was deployed and retrieved using Columbia’ s Remote Manipulator System (RMS). The goal of this astrophysics mission was to investigate the rarely explored far- and extreme-ultraviolet regions of the electromagnetic spectrum, and study the very hot and very cold matter in the universe.

ORFEUS-SPAS II attempted a large number of observing programs. Among the many areas in which scientists hoped to gain new insights during this mission was the evolution of stars, the structure of galaxies, and the nature of the interstellar medium, and others. Many of the objects they looked at had never before been observed in the far-ultraviolet.

ASTRO-SPAS is a carrier designed for launch, deployment and retrieval by the space shuttle. Once deployed from the shuttle’s RMS, ASTRO-SPAS operated quasi-autonomously for 14 days in the vicinity of the shuttle. After completion of the free flight phase, the satellite was retrieved by the RMS, returned to the shuttle cargo bay and returned to Earth.

The one-meter diameter ORFEUS telescope with the Far Ultraviolet (FUV) Spectrograph and the Extreme Ultraviolet (EUV) Spectrograph comprised the main payload. A secondary, but highly complementary, payload was the Interstellar Medium Absorption Profile Spectrograph (IMAPS). In addition to the astronomy payloads, ORFEUS-SPAS II carried the Surface Effects Sample Monitor (SESAM), the ATV Rendezvous Pre-Development Project (ARP), and the Student Experiment on ASTRO-SPAS (SEAS).

The ORFEUS-SPAS II mission was dedicated to astronomical observations at very short wavelengths, specifically the two spectral ranges Far Ultraviolet and Extreme Ultraviolet. This part of the electromagnetic spectrum, which is obscured by the Earth’s atmosphere and not observed by the Hubble Space Telescope, includes a high density of spectral lines (especially from various states of hydrogen and oxygen), which are emitted or absorbed by matter covering a wide range of temperatures.

The primary scientific objectives were:

• Investigation of the nature of hot stellar atmospheres
• Investigation of cooling mechanisms of white dwarf stars
• Investigation of supernova remnants
• Investigation of the interstellar medium and potential star forming regions

The Interstellar Medium Absorption Profile Spectrograph (IMAPS) was a separate instrument, attached to the ASTRO-SPAS framework. IMAPS operated independently of the ORFEUS telescope. IMAPS operated for more than two days of free flight and during that time observed the brightest galactic objects at extremely high resolutions. This resolution allows study of fine structure in interstellar gas lines. The individual motions of interstellar gas clouds can be determined to an accuracy of 1.6 kilometers per second.

Another science payload was the Surface Effects Sample Monitor (SESAM), a passive carrier for state­ of-the-art optical surfaces and potential future detector materials. SESAM investigated the impact of the space environment on materials and surfaces in different phases of a space shuttle mission, from launch, orbit phase to re-entry into the Earth’s atmosphere. Among the SESAM samples were witness samples to the telescope mirror, allowing for accurate calibration measurements after landing. Sample spaces were available to scientific and industrial users.

The ATV Rendezvous Pre­Development Project (ARP), part of the European Space Agency’s Automated Transfer Vehicle (ATV), was an element of the European manned space transportation program. Among the objectives of the ARP were to develop and validate ground simulation facilities; develop and demonstrate on-board control software and in­orbit relative GPS capabilities; and to demonstrate the operation of the optical rendezvous sensor in orbit.

The Student Experiment on ASTRO-SPAS (SEAS) was an electrolysis experiment built by students of the German high school of Ottobrunn. It consisted of eight experiment chambers containing various metal salt solutions and two electrodes. Metal “trees” of different shapes were grown on one electrode. Photographs taken of this process during the mission were compared to those of identical experiments conducted on the ground under the full influence of Earth’s gravity.

DARA SCHOOL PROJECT:  For this second ORFEUS-SPAS mission, DARA developed an innovative educational program designed to reach students in 170 German schools teaching astronomy, physics and computer science. The classes were tailored to prepare the students to use ORFEUS­ SPAS data in the study of general astronomy, the life and death of stars, stellar spectral analysis, as well as how to work with the data on computers via the Internet. DARA supplied the necessary written course information and developed an ORFEUS-SPAS Internet home page, where students received and worked directly with the data obtained during the mission.

WAKE SHIELD FACILITY-3 (WSF-3):  The WSF-3 was a 12-foot diameter, free-flying, stainless steel disk designed to generate an “ultra­ vacuum” environment in space in which to grow semiconductor thin films for use in advanced electronics. The STS-80 crew deployed and retrieved the WSF during the 17-day mission using Columbia’s “robot arm,” or Remote Manipulator System.

Wake Shield was sponsored by the Space Processing Division in NASA’s Office of Life and Microgravity Sciences and Applications. It was designed, built and operated by the Space Vacuum Epitaxy Center at the University of Houston-a NASA Commercial  Space Center, in conjunction with its industrial partner, Space Industries, Inc., also in Houston.

Low-Earth Orbit (LEO) space has only a moderate natural vacuum, one that can be greatly improved through the generation of an “ultra vacuum” wake behind an object moving through orbit. The unique ultra vacuum produced in the wake of the WSF has been shown in past flights to be 100 to 1,000 times better than the best operating ground-based laboratory chamber vacuums. Using this ultra­vacuum in space, the WSF had already grown the highest purity aluminum gallium arsenide thin films, and holds the promise of producing the next generation of semiconductor materials along with the devices they make possible.

The major objective of this third flight of WSF is to grow thin “epitaxial” films which could have a significant impact on the micro-electronics industry because the use of advanced semiconducting thin film materials in electronic components holds a very promising economic advantage. The commercial applications for high quality semiconductor devices are most critical in the consumer technology areas of personal communications systems, fiber optic communications, high-speed transistors and processors, and opto­electronic devices.

The Space Experiment Module (SEM) was a NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Shuttle Small Payloads Project education initiative that provided increased educational access to space. The program targeted kindergarten through university level participants. SEM stimulated and encouraged direct student participation in the creation, development, and flight of zero-gravity and microgravity experiments on the space shuttle.

SEM’s first flight included a number of experiments sponsored by the Charleston, SC, school district (CAN­DO). Their experiments included Gravity & Acceleration Readings, Bacteria-Agar Research Instrument, Crystal Research in Space, Magnetic Attraction Viewed in Space, and numerous passive items such as algae, bones, yeast, and photographic film.

Purdue University in West Lafayette, IN, also sponsored a number of experiments:  Fluid Thermal Convection, NADH Oxidase Absorbence in Shrimp, and a Passive Particle Detector experiment.

Hampton Elementary School in Lutherville, MD, experimented with seeds, soil, chalk, crayon, calcite, Silly Putty, bubble solution, popcorn, mosquito eggs, and other organic compounds.

Glenbrook North High School in Northbrook, IL, had a Surface Tension experiment. Albion Jr. High in Strongville, OH, flew a heat transfer experiment and studied the heating properties of copper tubes and pennies. Poquoson Middle School in Poquoson; VA, conducted a Bacteria Inoculation in Space experiment and NORSTAR (Norfolk Public Schools Science and Technology Advanced Research) in Norfolk, VA, observed the behavior of immiscible fluids.

NIH-R4 was the fourth in a series of collaborative experiments developed by NASA and the National Institutes of Health. NASA’s Ames Research Center, Mountain View, CA, was the experiment developer.

Principal investigator of the NIH­R4 experiment, “Calcium, Metabolism and Vascular Function After Space Flight,” was the Oregon Health Sciences University, Portland. For many years, they investigated the role of calcium in blood pressure regulation. Calcium has long been recognized as a critical mineral in the nor­ mal development and function of bone and muscle. These researchers were among the first to demonstrate that calcium also is essential for normal cardiovascular function.

This study added to the body of knowledge necessary to maintain the health of astronauts during space flight. In addition, it added new and exciting data to a growing body of evidence that calcium is a mineral with myriad functions critical to the normal function of human life on Earth.

NASA/CCM-A is one in a series of bone cell experiments conducted aboard the space shuttle. Results from a previous shuttle flight, NIH.C4 on STS-69, indicate that bone is affected by microgravity at the cellular level. The investigators participating in the STS-80 CCM-A mission hope to confirm their previous findings, and further test the hypothesis that the absence of gravity has a negative effect on bone formation.

Weightlessness results in bone loss in astronauts, similar to what occurs in people who undergo prolonged bed rest or, in some cases, lose the use of one of their limbs due to injury or disease. The exact cause of the bone loss is not yet clear, but it is at least partially due to decreased activity of osteoblasts, the cells which produce the matrix which mineralizes to become bone. Weightlessness results in similar decreased bone formation in both rodents and humans. Results from this experiment help scientists determine the usefulness of cultured bone cells in understanding how the acceleration due to gravity functions to maintain bone cell activity. The Principal Investigator for this study was the Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN.

Osteoblast adhesion and phenotype in microgravity:  Among the unanswered questions of bone loss during space flight are the direct effects that microgravity exerts on bone cells, and the mechanisms by which these cells recognize changes in gravity. This study focused on bone cells of the osteoblast family, which synthesize bone matrix and also may participate in its breakdown (resorption) by regulating the formation and activity of bone-resorbing cells, osteoblasts.

The investigators of this study were the Departments of Orthopedics, and Ophthalmology at Mount Sinai School of Medicine, NY. The project was sponsored by NASA’s Office of Life and Microgravity Sciences and Applications Small Payloads Program, and the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal Diseases.

BIOLOGICAL RESEARCH IN CANISTER (BRIC):  Although various effects of microgravity on plants have been observed, little is known about the underlying mechanisms involved. BRlC-09 studied the influence of microgravity on genetically altered tomato and tobacco seedlings that had been modified to contain elements of soybean genes. This study provided information about plants’ molecular biology and insight into the transport and distribution mechanisms for hormones within plants. The research provides crucial information on how to improve growth rates and biomass production of space-grown plants as well as information on how to enhance crop productivity on the Earth. The improvement of growth rate and biomass production of space­ grown plants is particularly useful for the development of life support systems to support crews over long­ duration flights. The improvement of growth and biomass production of space-grown plants also is an important step toward commercial application of space using plants as bioreactors for pharmaceutical products and for other commercial purposes. The principal investigator was, Kansas State University, Division of Biology, Manhattan, KS.

COMMERCIAL MDA ITA EXPERIMENT (CMIX-5): CMIX-5 was the last in a series of five shuttle flights linking NASA and the University of Alabama/Huntsville (UAH) Consortium for Materials Development in Space, with flight hardware privately developed by Instrumentation Technology Associates (ITA) of Exton, PA.

UAH research included diabetes treatment; cell reaction in microgravity that may lead to tissue replacement techniques; the development of gene combinations that are toxic to insect pests but not harmful to other species, thus creating a natural pesticide; and an environmental monitoring model using mysid shrimp.

A key activity for ITA was the ongoing effort to grow large protein crystals of urokinase for research linked to breast cancer inhibitors. There was also an ITA materials analysis study to see if the use of sealants in microgravity can lead to better protection of ntional monuments against acid rain. ITA also sponsored seven elementary and high school research activities as well as experiments linked to the National Space Society and the International Space University.

VISUALIZATION IN AN EXPERIMENTAL WATER CAPILLARY PUMPED LOOP (VIEW­CPL):  This technology was an option for spacecraft thermal management. A CPL collects and transports excess heat generated by spacecraft instruments. The heat is transported to a spacecraft radiator for rejection into space. Requiring no mechanical pump, a CPL can transport more energy for longer distances than heat pipes currently used today.

The purpose of the STS-80 experiment was to help develop a complete understanding of CPL physics in a microgravity environment by viewing the fluid flow inside the evaporator. VIEW-CPL was developed by the Department of Mechanical Engineering of the University of Maryland at College Park, as part of NASA’s In-Space Technology Experiment Program (IN­ STEP).

CREW BIOGRAPHIES

Commander: Kenneth D. Cockrell. Cockrell, 46, was born, in Austin, TX. He received a bachelor of science degree in mechanical engineering from the University of Texas and a master of science degree in aeronautical systems from the University of West Florida.

Cockrell was selected as an astronaut by NASA in January 1990 and became qualified for a flight assignment July 1991. A veteran of three space flights, including STS-56 in 1993 and STS-69 in 1995, he has logged more than 906 hours in space.

Pilot: Kent V. Rominger (CMDR, USN). Rominger, 40, was born in Del Norte, CO. He received a bachelor of science degree in civil engineering from Colorado State University and a master of science degree in aeronautical engineering from the U.S. Naval Postgraduate School. Rominger reported to the Johnson Space Center in August 1992 and after completing the one year of required training became qualified for future flight assignment. He made his first space flight from Oct. 20 to Nov. 5, 1995, on STS-73 during which Rominger served as pilot. With the completion of STS-80, Rominger has logged more than 806 hours in space.

Mission Specialist:  Tamara  E. Jernigan (Ph.D.). Jernigan, 37, was born in Chattanooga, TN. She received a bachelor of science degree in physics (with honors) and a master of science degree in engineering science from Stanford University. Jernigan also earned a master of science degree in astronomy from the University of California-Berkeley and a doctorate in space physics and astronomy from Rice University. Jernigan was selected as an astronaut candidate by NASA in June 1985 and became an astronaut in July 1986. A veteran of four space flights, Jernigan was a mission specialist on STS-40 in 1991 and STS-52 in October 1992. She was the payload commander on STS- 67 in March 1995 and with the completion of STS-80 has logged more than 1,278 hours in space.

Mission Specialist: Thomas D. Jones (Ph.D.). Jones, 41, was born in Baltimore, MD. He received a bachelor of science degree in basic sciences from the United States Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, CO, and a doctorate in planetary science from the University of Arizona in Tucson. After a year of training following his selection by NASA in January 1990, Jones became an astronaut in July 1991. In 1994, he flew as a mission specialist on successive flights of Space Shuttle Endeavour and the Space Radar Laboratory payload. His first flight was in April 1994 on STS-59 and then in October 1994 on STS-68, he served as payload commander for Space Radar Lab 2. With the completion of STS-80, Jones has logged more than 963 hours in space.

Mission Specialist:   Story Musgrave (MD). Musgrave, 61, was born in Boston, MA, but considers Lexington, KY, to be his hometown. He received a bachelor of science degree in mathematics and statistics from Syracuse University, a master of business administration degree in operations analysis and computer programming from the University of California at Los Angeles, a bachelor of arts degree in chemistry from Marietta College, a doctorate in medicine from Columbia University, New York, NY, a master of science in physiology and biophysics from the University of Kentucky, and a master of arts in literature from the University of Houston. Musgrave was selected as a scientist-astronaut by NASA in August 1967. A veteran of six space flights, Musgrave was a mission specialist on STS-6 in 1983, STS-51 F in 1985, STS-33 in 1989 and STS-44 in 1991. He was the payload commander on STS-61 in 1993 and with the completion of STS-80 has logged more than 1,282 hours in space. His sixth flight tied him with John Young’s record for most number of space flights by any human being and, at age 61, made him the oldest person ever to fly in space.

The STS-80 mission patch depicts Space Shuttle Columbia and the two research satellites its crew deployed into the blue field of space. The uppermost satellite is ORFEUS-SPAS (Orbiting Retrievable Far and Extreme Ultraviolet Spectrograph-Shuttle Pallet Satellite), a telescope aimed at unraveling the life cycles of stars and understanding the gases that drift between them. The lower satellite is the Wake Shield Facility, flying for the third time. It used the vacuum of space to create advanced semiconductors for the nation’s electronics industry. ORFEUS and Wake Shield are joined by the symbol of the Astronaut Corps, representing the human contribution to scientific progress in space. The two bright blue stars represent the mission’s space walks, final rehearsals for techniques and tools to be used in assembly of the International Space Station. Surrounding Columbia is a constellation of 16 stars, one for each day of the mission, representing the stellar talents of the ground and flight team that share the goal of expanding knowledge through a permanent human presence in space.

IS-1996-11-001.080JSC

www.AstronautTomJones.com

Our Space Radar Lab 1 crew on Endeavour, STS-59, took this shot into the heart of the Andes during the first week of our Mission to Planet Earth. This view looks across the Andes from orbit, about 134 miles above Valparaiso and Santiago, Chile.

The backbone of the Andes runs from upper left to lower right, with north at upper left, south to lower right. The highest reaches of the Andes are topped with snow and ice in mid-April (early autumn in the southern hemisphere). The prominent M-shaped peak at center-left, beneath the smooth basin, is Cerro Mercedario, the highest peak of the Cordillera de la Ramada range and the eighth-highest mountain of the Andes. Mercedario rises to 6720 meters, about 22,050 feet.

South of Mercedario, just left of center, is the prominent white peak of Aconcagua, the highest mountain outside of Asia, at 6,961 metres (22,838 ft), and by extension the highest point in both the Western and Southern hemispheres. Aconcagua is not a volcano, but an upthrust block of the Andes lifted by the collision of the Nazca tectonic plate with the South American plate. 

At top center is the city of San Juan, lying beneath the bread-loaf-shaped ridge to the east of those eroded ridgelines at upper left. The salt lake Lago Pampa de las Salinas is the arrowhead-shaped lake at top center.

The exceptionally clear air over the Andes and the mountains’ ruggedness make this view almost three-dimensional. It’s almost as if I’m back up there!

Here is a Google Maps view for orientation:

Read my chapter “Seeing Space” in “Ask the Astronaut” for more perspectives on Earth, at AstronautTomJones.com.

 

During the week of April 11, 2011, the FBI released some of its investigation records on UFOs. The reports reflect the reality that people do see unexplained phenomena in the sky. Are these sightings evidence for intelligent life elsewhere, or some secret flight testing program?

Much UFO speculation in the past has focused on one of my shuttle missions, STS-80, flown in late 1996. Some have maintained that video shot during this Columbia space shuttle flight provides evidence for unknown objects moving in the night sky. I have reviewed this video (for the first time in 1997), and conclude that it shows commonplace and well-known objects near the shuttle, all of them observed on every shuttle flight. These videos show low-light television camera images of ice particles or man-made debris drifting out of Columbia’s cargo bay, and floating in the vicinity of the shuttle, likely within a few tens of feet of the orbiter.

I have seen these snippets of STS-80 video many times since our flight. These video scenes were recorded by remote control, under ground command, with flight controllers in Houston’s Mission Control operating our low-light TV camera in the cargo bay. As far as I remember, nobody on the crew was looking out the window at these ice crystals or debris particles. Nobody thought anything that our crew observed out the window was of “alien” origin, or something not connected to the shuttle’s routine operations (e.g. a large rotating disk or any such unusual structure). Once you understand what the solar illumination conditions are (orbital twilight, with darkness below and sunlight at our altitude), it’s easy to conclude that the video shows normal small ice and debris particles drifting aimlessly away from the orbiter, with some pieces becoming sunlit as they move out of the shuttle’s shadow. During our science operations, robotic satellite deployments and grapples, and robot arm tests and exercises, we routinely noticed these ice particles and debris catching the brilliant sunlight outside. But these sightings were non-events for us, as we understood what we were seeing completely.

Both the flight crew and Mission Control are always attentive to particles seen outside the windows, or on payload bay cameras. Such sightings could be clues to spacecraft problems, such as a vital piece of equipment that has shaken loose. Those sightings need to be reported ASAP and openly discussed — is it a fuel leak, or a piece off the rudder, or damage to the TPS (tiles), or other bad news? Crewmembers and flight controllers have no reason to ever keep it secret or to keep these discussions off normal radio channels.

Aside from details of specific Defense Department payloads and their deployments, astronauts have no classification regulations or rules preventing anyone from discussing anything they’ve seen or experienced on space flights. No secret non-disclosure signatures, no secret threats, no secret brainwashing–we communicate openly with the public. What we get, you get. What we see that’s unusual, we tell you about.

I have spent many hours gazing out the shuttle windows during my 53 days in orbit, under all lighting and orbiter attitude conditions. The objects seen in the STS-80 videos are ordinary debris particles or ice crystals, some hit by shuttle thruster blasts that cause a change in their motion. Local lighting conditions also change the brightness of some objects as they drift into or out of shadow. I have never seen any evidence in space or on Earth of spacecraft or phenomena not explained by our routine space operations in the shuttle or Space Station programs. My crewmates and I have not seen any evidence for UFOs or spacecraft of “alien” origin or behavior. The STS-80 videos are records of normal space shuttle operations and optical phenomena.

It is regrettable that so many spaceflight-minded young people have their enthusiasms exploited by misinterpretations of such shuttle videos. These inaccurate theories about what the videos show–some naive, some possibly deliberately misleading–waste a great deal of productive energy. Insisting that astronauts have seen alien vehicles is incorrect: a deliberate falsehood. This myth wastes years of healthy curiosity and diverts it to pseudo-scientific wild goose chases, and is a disservice to the fantastic and dedicated work done in orbit by Space Station and shuttle crews, and their support team on Earth. Those still arguing about non-existent UFOs seen by space shuttle crews are wasting their time. Worse, they are misleading young explorers who don’t deserve to miss out on the genuine thrills and wonder of the spaceflight experience, its importance for the advancement of our species, and our understanding of the home planet and our universe.

Tom Jones, PhD

Planetary Scientist

Astronaut on STS-59, -68, -80, and -98

Author of Ask the Astronaut, Sky Walking: An Astronaut’s Memoir, and Planetology: Unlocking the Secrets of the Solar System.

www.AstronautTomJones.com

Early spring in the Appalachians jumps out at the astronauts aboard Endeavour, STS-59, Space Radar Lab 1. At an altitude of about 120 nautical miles, the Endeavour crew used a Hasselblad camera body with a 40mm lens to capture this northward view.

Washington, DC is at the bottom right edge of the photo, with I-95 leading northeast to Baltimore on the shores of Chesapeake Bay. The crooked arm of the Patapsco River is visible at the city center. (The Orioles were playing in the nearly new Camden Yards baseball stadium there.)

Moving up the coast, at the head of the Chesapeake, the Susquehanna River flows in from the west (left) in a dark green valley that slices through the mountain ridges. Philadelphia is next in line, on the Delaware River, with the dark green of the Jersey pine barrens at upper right. Finally, Long Island and New York City are visible at top right.

The Finger Lakes in upstate New York are at upper left, along with the shore of Lake Ontario. The ribbon-like sweep of the Appalachians dominates the center of this photo; these are the eroded roots of a folded chain of mountains that were once as high as the Rockies. The easternmost ridge at center is the Blue Ridge, and at bottom right is the silvery squiggle of the south fork of the Shenandoah River, flowing north to the Potomac along the western face of the Blue Ridge.

New spring leaves have not yet emerged at the higher elevations of the Appalachians, leaving just the rust-brown hue of fallen leaves and bare branches along the ridges. One can see the barrier that the Appalachians presented to early European settlers, confining them largely to the eastern seaboard for the first 150 years of settlement in eastern North America.

I grew up in Baltimore, so I truly enjoy the detail in this photo. Read more about viewing Earth in “Seeing Space,” a chapter in my new book, “Ask the Astronaut.” Copies available at:

www.AstronautTomJones.com