Space Window Promises Best-Ever View of Earth

EL SEGUNDO, Calif. (2/7/01) -- Shortly after the Destiny laboratory module links up with the International Space Station a dramatically improved view of Earth from the orbiting complex will be possible. That's because Destiny features a window of the best optical quality ever flown on a crewed spacecraft.

According to Karen Scott of The Aerospace Corporation, who has spearheaded development of the 20-inch-diameter "nadir" science window and recently led a 30-member team that calibrated the window, an exceptional view of more than 75 percent of Earth's surface will be possible.

The window's extraordinary clarity, in addition to providing great views for astronauts, will enable important earth-science studies to be undertaken with sophisticated telescopes, cameras, and remote-sensing instruments. One project under consideration is a comprehensive examination of the world's coral reefs, all of which will be visually accessible from the window.

Scott, who holds a doctorate in optical sciences and works in Aerospace's Houston office, said that if the

Space Shuttle Atlantis launches on schedule at 6:11 p.m. Eastern Standard Time today and other events unfold according to schedule, astronauts will first peer out the window on Feb. 14. At this time, during a space walk, a thermal blanket covering the window will be removed and a deployable and retractable shutter will be installed.

This weekend, Scott will be in the Payload Operations Control Center at the Johnson Space Center in Houston, "keeping my fingers crossed," as the delicate operation to get the 28-foot-long Destiny attached to the space station is undertaken.

She has a keen interest in this operation because, in addition to leading development of the window, she has been a key member of the team that developed an innovative camera-based berthing system.

The system, known as the Centerline Berthing Camera System, will be central to Astronaut Marsha Ivins' efforts to attach 16-ton Destiny to the 97-ton complex now occupied by a US astronauts and two Russian cosmonauts. It will enable Ivins to engineer a precise connection using the space shuttle's robotic arm without looking directly at the attachment points.

Use of the window for science purposes will begin in earnest sometime after the research infrastructure, called the Window Observational Research Facility (WORF), is brought to the space station. This is scheduled for mid-2002.

WORF will enable researchers to mount cameras, sensors and telescopes behind the window, and to hook up with power, thermal control, and other systems.

Meanwhile, astronauts will be able to enjoy the sharpest view of Earth ever achieved from a crewed spacecraft.