Return to Human Space Flight home page

International Space Station Imagery

high res (0.4 M) low res (45 K)
ISS008-E-18935 (24 March 2004) --- This photo of a large black smoke plume from an oil fire was taken by an Expedition 8 crewmember on the International Space Station as the Station orbited northeastward across Saudi Arabia. According to a front-page story in the New York Times, an oil pipeline near the channel of Shatt al Arab in southeastern Iraq on the Persian Gulf ruptured the day before. The resulting oil spill ignited and its smoke can here be seen to extend over 100 miles northwestward into southern Iraq.

Curator: Kim Dismukes | Responsible NASA Official: John Ira Petty | Updated: 03/30/2004
Web Accessibility and Policy Notices