ISS and Shuttle visit Calgary

I stared at the sky with geeky wonderment this evening as the International Space Station containing Canadian astronaut and honorary U of C alumnus Robert Thirsk passed over Calgary at 11:07pm, closely followed by the Space Shuttle Endeavour containing another Canadian astronaut, Julie Payette. Both craft were clearly visible, appearing just above the Western horizon and traveling at a little over 17,000 MPH. The Shuttle was around 15 minutes behind the ISS, although the NASA real time telemetry reports that Endeavour is moving faster than the ISS so the two craft can dock on Friday.

Between the ISS and Shuttle sightings, I was further transfixed by the sight of another three bright objects moving at a similar speed to the ISS and Shuttle. They seemed to be in a higher orbit and were on an approximate NE to SE track. I know viewing satellites is not unusual but I admit to being transfixed by the sight of 5 spacecraft flying over my house in 15 minutes.

Photo opportunities were limited and hampered by our resident and particularly ferocious mosquitoes. Despite their best attempts, I managed to get a shot of the ISS and shortly afterwards, Endeavour passing over our house [click thumbnails to enlarge]: