The Flickr Sts56 Image Generatr

The Karakoram/Karakorum Mountain Range is a rugged scene of glaciated mountains and U-shaped valleys that are found in extreme western China and northeast Pakistan (upper right quadrant). The snow capped (white) peaks and mountain ridges, where many peaks exceed 20000 feet (6096 meters) above sea level, present a dramatic color contrast with the broad, glaciated valleys (darker, linear feature) where the valley floors average around 13000 feet (3962 meters) above sea level. Several valley glaciers are visible along the southern (top) edge of the image. The deeply weathered, angular-looking mountain structure shows the results of ice and water erosion on this hostile and barren environment. Some of the valleys have mountain passes that allow ground movement through the mountains. A small section of STS56-152-038 overlaps with the southeastern (upper left corner) part of this image.

And/or:

STS-56 Earth observation, captured 10 April 1993, shows some of the highest mountain peaks in the world, taken from Discovery, Orbiter Vehicle (OV) 103, as it passed over India and China. The top of the view shows one of the snow and ice-covered massifs in the great Karakorum Range of north India. A star-shaped peak at top left reaches 23,850 feet. Glaciers can be seen in valleys at these high elevations. The international border between India to the south (top) and China (bottom) snakes left to right along a river near the top of the scene, then veers into the mountains at top left. Larger valleys, despite their elevation (all in excess of 14,000 feet), are occupied by transport routes joining points in India, China and the southern republics of the CIS. The ancient Silk Route between China and the Middle East lies not far to the north (outside the bottom of the frame).

eol.jsc.nasa.gov/searchphotos/photo.pl?mission=STS056&amp...

STS-56 Earth observation taken aboard Discovery, Orbiter Vehicle (OV) 103, is of a Canadian sunrise. Low clouds on the eastern horizon are blocking most of the direct sunlight as the sun climbs over the northern Atlantic in this Canadian sunrise scene. Bright yellow colors are sun rays which penetrate through the cloud-free areas while the reds in the scene are primarily illuminated clouds in the troposphere.

science.ksc.nasa.gov/mirrors/images/images/pao/STS56/1007...

science.ksc.nasa.gov/mirrors/images/images/pao/STS56/1007...

I don't think I've ever encountered a sunrise with national attribution cited. I viewed it as more of a global thing...especially from orbit. ;-)

www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/shuttle/shuttlemissions/archiv...

@ NASA (United States Air Force )
Space Shuttle "Discovery" Rockwell International - OV-103

@ History of Orbiter Vehicle Designation:
• 29.JAN.1979 : Contract award to Rockwell International's Space Transportation Systems Division in Downey CA USA
& the third of five fully operational orbiters to be built
• 27.AUG.1979 : Start fabrication - Palmdale CA
• 16.OCT.1983 : Rollout from Palmdale
• 09.NOV.1983 : Delivery to Kennedy Space Center ( KSC ) FL & "Discovery" became the third operational orbiter to enter service preceded by "Columbia" and "Challenger"
• 30.AUG.1984 : First Flight ( STS-41-D )
• 08.NOV.1984 : Mission STS-51-A ( 7 days )
• 24.JAN.1985 : Mission STS-51-C ( 3 days )
• 12.APR.1985 : Mission STS-51-D ( 6 days )
• 17.JUN.1985 : Mission STS-51-G ( 7 days ) first Saudi Arabian Man in space
• 27.AUG.1985 : Mission STS-51-I ( 7 days )
• 29.SEP.1988 : Mission STS-26 ( 4 days ) Return to flight after Space Shuttle Challenger disaster
• 13.MAR.1989 : Mission STS-29 ( 4 days )
• 22.NOV.1989 : Mission STS-33 ( 5 days )
• 24.APR.1990 : Mission STS-31 ( 5 days ) Launch of Hubble Space Telescope
• 06.OCT.1990 : Mission STS-41 ( 4 days ) Launch of Ulysses
• 12.APR.1991 : Mission STS-39 ( 8 days ) Launched DOD Air Force Program
• 12.SEP.1991 : Mission STS-48 ( 5 days )
• 22.JAN.1992 : Mission STS-42 ( 8 days )
• 02.DEC.1992 : Mission STS-53 ( 7 days )
• 08.APR.1993 : Mission STS-56 ( 9 days )
• 12.SEP.1993 : Mission STS-51 ( 9 days )
• 03.FEB.1994 : Mission STS-60 ( 8 days ) First Shuttle-Mir mission
• 09.SEP.1994 : Mission STS-64 ( 10 days )
• 03.FEB.1995 : Mission STS-63 ( 8 days ) Rendezvous with Mir space station
• 13.JUL.1995 : Mission STS-70 ( 8 days )
• 11.FEB.1997 : Mission STS-82 ( 9 days ) Servicing Hubble Space Telescope
• 07.AUG.1997 : MissionSTS-85 ( 11 days )
• 02.JUN.1998 : Mission STS-91 ( 9 days )
• 29.OCT.1998 : Mission STS-95 ( 8 days ) second flight of John Glenn and first Spaniard in space
• 27.MAY.1999 : Mission STS-96 ( 9 days ) Resupply mission for the International Space Station
• 19.DEC.1999 : Mission STS-103 ( 7 days )
• 11.OCT.2000 : Mission STS-92 ( 12 days ) 100th Shuttle mission
• 08.MAR.2001 : Mission STS-102 ( 12 days )
• 10.AUG.2001 : Mission STS-105 ( 11 days )
• 26.JUL.2005 : Mission STS-114 ( 13 days ) Return To Flight mission since Space Shuttle Columbia disaster
• 04.JUL.2006 : Mission STS-121 ( 12 days ) International Space Station ( ISS ) supplies delivery
• 09.DEC.2006 : Mission STS-116 ( 12 days ) Last flight to launch on pad 39-B
• 23.OCT.2007 : Mission STS-120 ( 15 days )
• 31.MAY.2008 : Mission STS-124 ( 13 days )
• 15.MAR.2009 : Mission STS-119 ( 12 days )
• 28.AUG.2009 : Mission STS-128 ( 13 days )
• 05.APR.2010 : Mission STS-131 ( 15 days )
• 24.FEB.2011 : Final Mission STS-133 ( 12 days ) The latest launched at 4:53 pm EST
• 09.MAR.2011 : "Discovery" was decommissioned
≠ Retired after 39 missions with Crew members : 252
≠ Time spent in space : 1 year (365 days) 22 hours 39 minutes 33 seconds
≠ Distance travelled : 148,221,675 miles or 238,539,663 km
≠ Satellites deployed : 31 ( including Hubble Space Telescope )
• 17.APR.2012 : On display at the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center Musuem in Chantilly VA USA

STS-56 crewmembers pose on aft flight deck of Discovery, Orbiter Vehicle (OV) 103, for this in-cabin electronic still camera (ESC) photograph. Clockwise from the bottom right corner are Commander Kenneth Cameron, Mission Specialist 3 (MS3) Ellen Ochoa, MS2 Kenneth D. Cockrell, and Pilot Stephen S. Oswald. The crewmembers are positioned in front of the onorbit station. The image was recorder with the Hand-held, Earth-oriented, Real-time, Cooperative, User-friendly, Location-targeting and Environmental System (HERCULES). HERCULES is a device that makes it simple for Shuttle crewmembers to take pictures of Earth as they merely point and shoot any interesting feature, whose latitude and longitude are automatically determined in real time. In-cabin shots are for test purposes only.

Payload and general support computer flown on STS-56

This was another dealer purchase that I couldn't resist.

STS-56, carrying ATLAS-2, the second Atmospheric Laboratory for Applications and Science mission: During this nine-day mission the crew of Discovery conducted atmospheric and solar studies in order to better understand the effect of solar activity on the Earth’s climate and environment, and deployed and retrieved the autonomous observatory Spartan.

STS-56 launched on April 8, 1993, and landed at Kennedy Space Center on April 17, 1993. Mission duration was 9 days, 6 hours, 9 minutes and 21 seconds.

The crew: ret. Marine Col. Kenneth D. Cameron, commander; Stephen S. Oswald, pilot; and mission specialists Kenneth D. Cockrell, C. Michael Foale, and Ellen Ochoa.

Ochoa is now the director of the Johnson Space Center; I missed her when she made an unannounced appearance at the deli next to NASA HQ in Washington, DC at the time of the NASA Social with Joseph M. Acaba.

FDC Départ STS-56 / VIP Card

Autographe de Ken COCKRELL

Logo Mission STS-56