explanation
The Space Shuttle Discovery [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap950808.html ]'s orbital maneuvering system (OMS) engine firing [ http://images.jsc.nasa.gov/images/pao/STS51I/10062237.htm ] produced this dramatic flare as it cruised "upside down" in low Earth orbit. Discovery [ http://www.ksc.nasa.gov/shuttle/resources/orbiters/discovery.html ] was named for a ship commanded by Captain James Cook RN [ http://www.cybergate.com/~rsoppe/explor7.html ], the 18th Century English astronomer and navigator. Cook [ http://web.wwnorton.com/blurbs.cat/003680.htm ]'s voyages of discovery established new standards in scientific exploration and brought extensive knowledge of the unknown Pacific regions, including Australia, New Zealand, and the Hawaiian Island [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap951216.html ] archipelago to Europeans. NASA's four-orbiter Space Shuttle fleet [ http://www.amdahl.com/internet/events/shuttle.html ] will begin a new year of operation on January 11, with the planned launch [ http://www.ksc.nasa.gov/shuttle/missions/sts-72/countdown.html ] of the shuttle Endeavour (STS-72) [ http://www.ksc.nasa.gov/shuttle/missions/sts-72/mission-sts-72.html ]. Also named after one of Cook's ships, Endeavor [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap950807.html ] is the latest addition to the shuttle fleet [ http://seds.lpl.arizona.edu/ssa/space.shuttle/docs/homepage.html ].
Explanation
false