NASA has released a series of spectacular images showing the space shuttle Endeavour during its final mission to the International Space Station.
The pictures, released Tuesday, are the first to show a shuttle joined to the $100 billion outpost now complete after more than 12 years of assembly.
The station performed a special 130-degree roll to present the stunning views of the shuttle.
Italian astronaut Paolo Nespoli snapped photos and shot video from a Russian Soyuz spacecraft hovering 600 feet behind the station before its return home May 23.
It was the first time a Soyuz departed while a shuttle was present.
The images’ release was delayed while they remained packed inside the Soyuz during its return from Kazakhstan to Moscow for post-flight processing.
You can see the full gallery HERE.
Wow. The detail of the images in the 70MB download file is amazing-24MP images from a Nikon D3x.