SuitSat1: A Spacesuit Floats Free

Astronomy Picture of the Day · 2006-02-20 · NASA (public domain)

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SuitSat1: A Spacesuit Floats Free — APOD for 2006-02-20

Who dunnit? Like a scene from a space mystery movie, a spacesuit floated away from the International Space Station earlier this month, but no investigation was needed. It was pushed out by the space station crew. Dubbed Suitsat-1 , the unneeded Russian Orlan spacesuit filled mostly with old clothes was fitted with a faint radio transmitter and released to orbit the Earth. Suitsat-1 will orbit once every 90 minutes until it burns up in the Earth's atmosphere within a few weeks. The suit circled the Earth twice before its radio signal became unexpectedly weak . Pictured above , the lifeless spacesuit was photographed as it drifted away from the Earth-orbiting space station earlier this month.

Astronomy Picture of the Day for 2006-02-20 — image & explanation courtesy of NASA (public domain), mirrored at Tukuk-OS for reading and search convenience.

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