International Space Station
The International Space Station (ISS) is a modular space laboratory in low Earth orbit, jointly operated by NASA, Roscosmos, ESA, JAXA, and CSA. Launched beginning in 1998, it has been continuously inhabited since November 2000 and supports cutting-edge research in microgravity, Earth observation, and space technology, while fostering international cooperation.
Source: nasa.gov
APODs including "International Space Station"
Perseid Below
17/08/2011
Denizens of planet Earth watched this year's Perseid meteor shower by looking up into the moonlit night sky. But this remarkable view captured by astronaut Ron Garan looks down on a Perseid meteor. From Garan's perspective onboard the International Space Station orbiting at an altitude of about 380 kilometers, the Perseid meteors streak below, swept up dust left from comet Swift-Tuttle heated to incandescence. The glowing comet dust grains are traveling at about 60 kilometers per second through the denser atmosphere around 100 kilometers above Earth's surface. In this case, the foreshortened meteor flash is right of frame center, below the curving limb of the Earth and a layer of greenish airglow. Out of the frame, the Sun is on the horizon beyond one of the station's solar panel arrays at the upper right. Seen above the meteor near the horizon is bright star Arcturus and a star field that includes the constellations Bootes and Corona Borealis. The image was recorded on August 13 while the space station orbited above an area of China approximately 400 kilometers to the northwest of Beijing. Poll: Is APOD a blog?