Beautiful images filmed in space show "How a spacecraft leaves our planet"



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"That's right," tweeted astronaut Alexander Gerst, who has filmed everything from the International Space Station.

A rocket launch is always an awesome sight to watch – whether you watch the live feed on the internet or you have the privilege of attending the event near the launch site. And, while we've seen our fair share of memorable rocket launches from Earth, a handful of people have the unique opportunity to follow these incredible attempts from space.

A beautiful video filmed from the International Space Station (ISS) shows a spacecraft in orbit, revealing what a rocket launch looks like from the other side of the Karman Line – the commonly accepted boundary between the Earth's atmosphere and space .

The film – a timelapse of the launch of a Soyuz-FG rocket, filmed from the ISS by German astronaut Alexander Gerst of the European Space Agency (ESA) – fills out the missing pieces of history, revealing the invisible aspects of spaceflights that normally escape the eyes of Earth-bound observers.

According to ESA, the short film was captured on November 16, while the Soyuz-FG rocket was swept into space aboard the Russian MS-10 Progress cargo ship. Also called Progress 71, the cargo ship was sent to the ISS for refueling and docked at the orbital outpost two days later.

The spectacular view was filmed by Gerst, who managed to film about 15 minutes of the launch of Progress 71 from the wraparound Cupola window on the space station. Earlier this week, the German astronaut went on Twitter to share the incredible views from the space.

"That's right," tweeted Gerst, who heads the ISS as commander of the 57th expedition.

The breathtaking timelapse was captured with a camera set to take pictures at regular intervals and shows the launch at around eight to 16 times the normal speed.

In the video, we can see the Soyuz rocket leaving our planet in a flare before deploying the cargo ship Progress 71. The key moments of the launch show the separation of the rocket propeller at 00:07, the separation of the first floor at 00:19 and the deployment of the Progress spacecraft entering orbit at 00:34, followed by the fierce return of the satellite. Soyuz, first floor of the Earth's atmosphere 00:36.

The rocket and its payload took off from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan at 1:14 pm. EST November 16. Russian cargo arrived at the ISS on 18 November. She was carrying 5,652 pounds of supplies for astronauts living and working 250 km above the Earth.

"The Progress spacecraft has delivered food, fuel and supplies, including about 750 kg of propellant, 75 kg of oxygen and air and 440 liters of water," says one. ESA release.

A Russian spacecraft Progress moored at the ISS.

A Russian spacecraft Progress moored at the ISS.

NASA TV

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Wikimedia Commons


This is the first flight of a Soyuz-FG rocket since an operational incident led to a launch abandonment on October 11, the report notes. Sputnik News.

"The launch of the Progress satellite was originally scheduled for the ISS on October 30, but its launch was postponed until November 16, following the abnormal launch of October 11," reports the Russian news agency. TASS.

The incident last month occurred during the manned launch of the MS-10 capsule for the ISS, with NASA astronaut Nick Hague and Russian cosmonaut Alexei Ovchinin on board. The two astronauts were not injured and managed to land on Earth a few minutes after takeoff. Inquisitr reported at the time.

The next scheduled launch from Baikonur will take place on December 3, when the Soyuz MS-11 capsule is to bring a crew of three to the space station. Anne McClain of NASA, Oleg Kononenko of Roscosmos and David Saint-Jacques of the Canadian Space Agency are astronauts waiting for their flight into space.

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