An Incredible Photo of a Spacesuit Floating Away From the International Space Station

NASA SuitSat

An empty spacesuit outfitted with a radio transmitter and filled with old clothes floats free from the International Space Station in this February 2006 photo. The spacesuit, dubbed SuitSat-1, was an old Russian Orlan spacesuit intentionally released by the crew to see if old spacesuits could be turned into useful satellites.

After two 90-minute orbits the suit’s transmitter became unexpectedly weak, and it finally burned up in the Earth’s atmosphere after a few weeks of orbiting the planet.

image via ISS Expedition 12 Crew & NASA

Rollin Bishop
Rollin Bishop