View From Above: First Space View of Shuttle Reentry [PICS]

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Soon after the space shuttle Atlantis pulled away from the International Space Station for the last time, the space station crew took this first-of-a-kind shot of the shuttle's fiery reentry.

As NASA described it:

This unprecedented view of the space shuttle Atlantis, appearing like a bean sprout against clouds and city lights, on its way home, was photographed by the Expedition 28 crew of the International Space Station. Airglow over Earth can be seen in the background.

There have been plenty of photos of the shuttle's reentry taken from the perspective of Earth, but this is the first one taken from the space station as the shuttle slowed down from 17,500 mph to zero after it landed for the last time at Cape Canaveral Thursday morning.

It was a successful end of the last mission of the space shuttle program. Here's a gallery of the mission: