Current position of the Space Shuttle in orbit (when in orbit)
Recent Earth Science Projects on Shuttle
Space Shuttle Earth Observation Photography Throughout the Space Shuttle era, astronauts in orbit have photographed the Earth through the spacecraft windows.
Shuttle Radar Topography Mission (SRTM) was a mission to map the topography (elevation data) of the world with unprecedented resolution. It flew on the Space Shuttle Endeavor in February 2000. During the 10 days of operation, it collected data on as much of the surface of the Earth as possible (between 60 degrees north latitude and 54 degrees south latitude). A systematic global data set will be completed by the end of 2002.
Spaceborne Imaging Radar-C/X-band Synthetic Aperture Radar (SIR-C/X-SAR) was the precursor to SRTM, and flew twice on the Space Shuttle in 1994. SIR-C/X-SAR featured multiparameter radar imaging (3 bands, programmable polarization modes). Two earlier missions SIR-A (1983) and SIR-B (1984) demonstrated the radar capabilities for various scientific applications. These missions focused on a limited number of supersite targets for repeated viewing and illustrated the potential of radar mapping.