WIKIARCHIVES.SPACE

Backdropped against the blackness of space and Earth's horizon, Spartan 201-05 leaves the cargo bay of the Space Shuttle Discovery. The satellite will remain a free-flyer for several days while it records data on the solar wind and the sun's corona. This data is hoped to increase knowledge of the sun's effect on our planet. Cargo bay of Discovery is partially visible at left. The Canadian-built remote manipulator system (RMS)is partially visible at right. The photograph was taken with an electronic still camera (ESC) at 2:09:35 GMT, November 1.