The Soyuz MS-15 Launch, Seen From Above and Below

Yesterday, a Russian Soyuz-FG booster rocket blasted off from its launchpad at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, bound for the International Space Station (ISS). Aboard the rocket was the Soyuz MS-15 spacecraft, which, in turn, was carrying the ISS Expedition 61 crew members Jessica Meir of NASA and Oleg Skripochka of Roscosmos, as well as Hazzaa Ali Almansoori of the United Arab Emirates. This launch was notable, as it was well covered by photographers both on the ground and in orbit, as astronauts aboard the ISS were able to look down and capture images of their approaching colleagues as they climbed into the sky, accelerating to approximately 17,000 mph (27,350 kph).

Read more
Hints: View this page full screen. Skip to the next and previous photo by typing j/k or ←/→.

Most Recent

  • Julio Cortez / AP

    Photos: Damage From the Tornado Outbreak in Mississippi

    Images from the small town of Rolling Fork, which was struck by a destructive EF4 tornado

  • Anupam Nath / AP

    Photos of the Week: Sky Bar, Kansas Sunset, Flooded Fields

    Drought conditions in Spain, heavy snow in California, the Fallas Festival in Spain, the start of Ramadan in Indonesia, cherry blossoms in Japan, a sandstorm in Inner Mongolia, and much more

  • Agung Parameswara / Getty

    Ogoh-ogoh Parades Welcome the Balinese New Year

    Giant demonic effigies are carried through the streets of Bali, then burned in purification ceremonies.

  • NASA

    The Beauty of Earth From Orbit

    Recent images of our home planet, seen by crew members of the International Space Station