My 1st ever star trail from space. More details in comments.Submitted by astro_pettit t3_10653aa in space
astro_pettit OP t1_j3enwpx wrote
My first orbital star trail; taken during Expedition 6 in early 2003. I took this before we had low noise, nighttime-sensitive digital cameras. This photo was taken with a Nikon F5, 58mm noct-Nikkor f1.2 lens with Fujichrome ISO 800 film and a 65 second exposure. All the detail seen in my later digital star trails can be seen; atmospheric airglow appearing as a green key lime pie layer, the fainter upper atmospheric red f-region, cities streaking by from orbital motion, lightning storms flashing as a function of time, and star trails. The blips in the star trail arcs were caused by the ISS attitude shifting around due to a down mode failure of our control moment gyros. For high speed film, it would become fogged by cosmic rays after about a month and was typically flown only on short two week Space Shuttle missions.
I got special permission to fly this film, launching with us on STS 113 in November 2002 and was supposed to return on STS 114 in February. Due to the STS 107 Columbia disaster, STS 114 was delayed for 2½ years. I returned about 70 rolls of film on our Soyuz TMA-1 in May 2003. Working with the photochemistry engineers at NASA JSC, we developed one roll at a time to find the best development process that minimized the effects of cosmic ray damage. This photo is the result from that effort.
More star trails from space can be found on my Instagram and Twitter accounts.
baconjerky t1_j3epo1q wrote
This is awesome thanks for sharing!
OptimusSublime t1_j3erkuy wrote
What was the reason behind the special permission for the film? Did it count towards your personal belongings weight allowance? Or was it something else?
astro_pettit OP t1_j3orfks wrote
ISO 800 film was not flown to ISS for long duration missions due to cosmic ray fogging (remember, this was only the 6th mission to station). I asked the photo folks and they happily flew some for me.
ajamesmccarthy t1_j3eqlpf wrote
Great shot! Was it tricky to stabilize the camera in the ISS? Curious if you had a good way to secure it against a window to minimize reflections and keep it from floating away!
-DementedAvenger- t1_j3euk9j wrote
Probably just holding it against the window. I’ve done it before at home, and I don’t think the ISS vibrates much (could be wrong).
ajamesmccarthy t1_j3evihf wrote
For 65 seconds it’s pretty hard to not move the camera, even when pressed against something. Seems like there would be an easy solution, just curious what it is
Jakebsorensen t1_j3fa4dr wrote
Maybe taping it to the window? There’s no gravity, so it wouldn’t take much
danielravennest t1_j3i5jj2 wrote
That would leave a tape residue. Bungies are probably the easiest method. Most good cameras have a tripod mount. So you can bring up a mounting adapter that can grab onto a hand-hold or other available hard point.
danielravennest t1_j3i6n4k wrote
Adapter that screws into the tripod mount and clamps any available rigid item, like astronaut hand-holds (blue)
astro_pettit OP t1_j3oqli4 wrote
We have Bogan arms that can clamp on fixtures near the window and steadily hold the camera in position
tsokiyZan t1_j3fajq9 wrote
how on earth is this post not top of all time?
Voodoo_Masta t1_j3f04zr wrote
This is amazing, thank you for sharing! Love the story behind the little blip in the star trails... that actually makes the photo more interesting IMO!
astro_pettit OP t1_j3orvlv wrote
Normally there are 4 control moment gyros to hold station attitude, there was a failure so we were down to three and the control algorithm for this down mode was still being tweaked so some blips were expected
TheSpaceExplorer1 t1_j3os8zh wrote
That is an absolutely incredible picture! Do you have any plans to fly in space again?
PandaGoggles t1_j3g45zq wrote
This is absolutely the coolest thing. What an interesting description. We’re the first few rolls developed usable, and what effect do the cosmic rays have, like do they increase noise?
astro_pettit OP t1_j3oqxu5 wrote
The nasa photo chemistry person would develop one roll, check it for cosmic ray fogging/low contrast, change the chemistry, and do another. It took perhaps 8 rolls to get it down
PandaGoggles t1_j3os6ex wrote
That’s really cool. I bet the photo chem person enjoyed the challenge. When traveling with film I store it in a little shielded box. Usually TSA will check it by hand for me, but sometimes they’re really weird about it. Did you store your rolls in some sort of shielded box as well?
DanielJStein t1_j3f5lrf wrote
Can’t believe this a film photo, stunning!
MyBrightStar t1_j3haog2 wrote
Hello again mr.Pettit ! Always a pleasure to look at your art.
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[deleted] t1_j3fhamn wrote
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PatReady t1_j3exu54 wrote
Could you fly a drone type of device in space from The ISS and get a video like this today?
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