Space Exploration

Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency astronaut Aki Hoshide, Expedition 33 flight engineer, uses a still camera to photograph the Canadarm2 robotic arm's Latching End Effector (LEE) from a window in the Cupola of the International Space Station. ISS033-E-012353 (16 Oct. 2012) --- high res (1.0 M) low res (68 K)

The Soyuz rocket is rolled out to the launch pad by train, on Sunday, Oct. 21, 2012, at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. Launch of the Soyuz rocket is scheduled for Tuesday, Oct. 23. The rocket will send Expedition 33/34 Flight Engineer Kevin Ford of NASA, Soyuz Commander Oleg Novitskiy and Flight Engineer Engineer Evgeny Tarelkin of ROSCOSMOS on a five-month mission aboard the International Space Station. Image Credit: NASA/Bill Ingalls. Larger Image

Austria's Felix Baumgartner earned his place in the history books on Sunday after overcoming concerns with the power for his visor heater that impaired his vision and nearly jeopardized the mission. Baumgartner reached an estimated speed of 1,342.8 km/h (Mach 1.24) jumping from the stratosphere, which when certified will make him the first man to break the speed of sound in freefall and set several other records* while delivering valuable data for future space exploration.

Cable technicians raise their cherry pickers watch and photograph the space shuttle Endeavour as it is maneuvered through the streets of Inglewood, Calif., on its way to its new home at the California Science Center, on Oct. 13, 2012. Endeavour, built as a replacement for space shuttle Challenger, completed 25 missions, spent 299 days in orbit, and orbited Earth 4,671 times while traveling 122,883,151 miles. Beginning Oct. 30, the shuttle will be on display at the science center, embarking on its new mission to commemorate past achievements in space and educate and inspire future generations of explorers. Photo Credit: (NASA/Bill Ingalls) Larger images"