Astronomy Picture of the Day ·

To Fly Free in Space

The Astronomy Picture of the Day for December 31, 2017 is “To Fly Free in Space,” an image. It is credited to Image Credit: STS-41B , NASA. The original explanation runs about 143 words.

To Fly Free in Space
Credit: Image Credit: STS-41B , NASA Shown from science.nasa.gov. Not hosted by OpenOrbit.

From the explanation

“What would it be like to fly free in space? At about 100 meters from the cargo bay of the space shuttle Challenger , Bruce McCandless II was living the dream — floating farther out than anyone had ever been before.”

— APOD editors, December 31, 2017

Read the full explanation on science.nasa.gov

At a glance

Date
December 31, 2017
Type
Image
Credit
Credit: Image Credit: STS-41B , NASA
Copyright
No copyright notice on the entry. Check the credited institution’s own usage rules before reusing it.
Explanation length
About 143 words

All of December 2017 → · 2017 by month → · Full archive since 1995 →

On this day: December 31 in other years

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Source

Copy taken Oct 28, 2026, 2:39 AM EDT. The image and explanation belong to their creators. OpenOrbit is not affiliated with or endorsed by NASA.