If Gravity taught us anything, it's that space is terrifying. If it taught us anything else, it's that the Earth is also spectacularly beautiful from 250 miles up.
Pending a drop in the Virgin Galactic prices or a significant lowering of the entry requirements for astronauts, we won't be experiencing the terror/view any time soon. But we've got the next best thing - a live stream of Earth from the ISS.
Part of the High Definition Earth Viewing experiment, four HD cameras were delivered to the ISS by the SpaceX Dragon commercial spacecraft back in mid April. Now installed in a pressurised box mounted on the External Payload Facility of the space station, the cameras provide an ISS-eye's view of our planet while being tested for their ability to survive the harsh environments of orbit.
Live streaming video by Ustream
Now, be warned that the signal does sometimes cut out (because, well, space and that) and occasionally go dark when the ISS is passing through nigh time sections of its orbit. And be sure to plug some headphones in to hear the occasional chatter between the ISS crew and ground control.
(Image: ISS Updates)
(Via: UStream)
