Passage over Europe

Twenty minutes after liftoff and ten minutes after Main Engine Cutoff, the Space Shuttle Endeavour on mission STS-99 passed over Europe and could be observed as a bright object passing over the sky. This time exposure shows the trail of Endeavour between the stars Theta Lyrae and Gamma Draconis. The separated External Tank shows up just below Endeavour. The variations in brightness of that trail can be explained by tumbling of the tank by about one revolution per minute. (Photo by: Gerhard Holtkamp).

Courtesy of DLR.