NASA photographer grabs rare shot of space station in front of moon

Worldwide Space Station (ISS) clicked breathtaking pictures of the lunar surface as it glided around it at a speed of five miles per second. “He will handle the general improvement, integration and operation of this system”, stated William Gerstenmaier, affiliate administrator for NASA’s Human Exploration and Operations Mission Directorate in Washington. “As program manager, Kirk will work directly with global partners to ensure safe and reliable operation of the orbiting laboratory, and foster continued scientific research that benefits humanity and helps prepare the agency for its journey to Mars”. Pretty spectacular, no? The scale is absolutely phenomenal; the ISS is about the size of a football field, so it gives you an idea of moon’s relatively small stature.

NASA has recognized Shireman with the agency’s Exceptional Achievement Medal, Silver Snoopy award in 1990 and Presidential Rank Award in 2010. Armenpress reports that the image of the global Space Station is visible close to the center of the photo. It gets even better when you remember there are six people on board the station, which looks utterly dwarfed by the moon and its stark craters. O’Donnell had explained at the time that the ISS transits the moon for 0.33 seconds as it shoots by quite quickly – the ISS completes an orbit of the Earth every 92.91 minutes and moves at 27,600 km per hour.

There’s one more opportunity to see the station, on Monday night at 8:58 p.m. He has a bachelor’s degree in aerospace engineering from the University of Texas at Austin.