Ralf Vandebergh captures incredible images of the International Space Station, the Space Shuttle and other Earth-orbiting satellites. I’ve always been a huge fan of Ralf’s work. It inspires me to try and capture better images of the ISS.

Ralf doesn’t have a website though, and so it can be difficult to find his work scattered throughout the various forums and observing lists he contributes to.

So with Ralf’s permission, I wanted to showcase his amazing images and compile a collection of some of his best images of the International Space Station and Space Shuttle, including the first ever image of a space-walking astronaut captured from Earth!

International Space Station, captured on the 25/09/2008

Please continue reading to see more of Ralf’s amazing photos, and to find out about the equipment he uses, how he captures these incredible images and to learn more about the man himself.

This image below is, to my knowledge, the first and only image showing a spacewealking astronaut as captured from Earth.

This incredible photo was taken on March 21, 2009, during STS-119 and has been the subject of much scrutiny. While only a few pixels, the placement and timing matches up perfectly with where the spacewalking astronaut was positioned at that time. Other features on the ISS that are only 2 metres resolution have been captured by Ralf before, which adds weight to the argument that it certainly is possible to capture a spacewalking astronaut.

NASA chose Ralf’s image to be Astronomy Picture of the Day for 10th April 2009, adding more weight that Ralf’s capture is confirmed.

Space-walking Astronaut - view from Earth and view from Space

For a comparison of features on the International Space Station as captured by Ralf, please check out this exploded view of the ISS configuration.

The image below shows the ISS and the Automated Transfer Vehicle, Jules Verne, captured 1 day apart.

The ISS and the Jules Verne ATV, captured on 25/09/2008

The image below shows the ISS with the M-65 Progress Supply Vehicle attached. The solar panels of the M-65 are visible on the left.

The ISS and the Progress M-65 supply vehicle

The image below shows the Quest Airlock on the ISS.

The ISS Quest Airlock

The Unity and Destiny modules with the Quest Airlock.

The ISS with Unity, Destiny and Quest Airlock

Labelled view showing the Quest Joint Airlock, Crewlock and Equipment Lock.

The ISS Joint Airlock, Crewlock and Equipment Lock

Incredible detailed view of the ISS showing the Canadarm 2 robotic arm and the Starboard SARJ (Solar Alpha Rotary Joint).

Incredible Detailed Image of the ISS

Amazing view of Space Shuttle Endeavour (STS-126) with it’s payload bay doors open.

Amazing image of the Space Shuttle (STS-126)

Labelled view of the ISS as captured on December 29th, 2008. Shows the solar panels, truss segments and other modules.

Labelled view of ISS Components, captured on Dec 29th 2008

Close-up view of the Zvezda and Zarya modules.

Close-up of the Zvezda / Zarya module

Detailed view of the Columbus and Kibo modules.

Detailed image of the Columbus and Kibo Modules

International Space Station captured on the 29th January 2009.

International Space Station, captured on the 29th January 2009

This image shows the Lira antenna on the Zvezda module.

Image showing the Lira Antenna on the Zvezda module

This incredible image shows both robotic arms (Canadarm 1 and Canadarm 2) resolved as Space Shuttle Discovery is docked with the ISS during mission STS-119.

Image showing the Robotic Arms (Canadarm1 and Canadarm2)

We can even see the NASA emblem on Space Shuttle Discovery, as captured during STS-119.

Amazing image of Space Shuttle Discovery (STS-119) with NASA Emblem

Image showing a capture of the UARS (research satellite) at the same scale as the space shuttle.

Image of the UARS research satellite

Ralf and His Equipment

Ralf lives in the Netherlands, and has been interested in spaceflight from childhood when he got his first telescope, a 60mm refractor. Years later he bought his first 15cm refractor, and was particularly interested in the Moon, Sun and Planets.

In early 2000, Ralf became an active planet astrophotographer and in 2006 his special interest in photographing the storms on Saturn paid off as some of images made it to the NASA Cassini team.

Below is a picture of the equipment Ralf uses to capture the ISS, Space Shuttle and other satellite images. It’s a 25cm (10″) f/4.8 Newtonian, and as a capture device he uses an ATIK instruments ATK-2C camera.

Ralf's Setup - 10" Newt with Atik-2C camera

In the last few years as digital astrophotography advanced further, his old interest in spaceflight increased again and he started to capture images of the ISS and other satellites. He uses his 6×30 finderscope and tries to keep the satellite centered in the crosshairs – it’s becoming a real sport for Ralf to do it well, these days.

The image below shows Ralf in action. The camera is recording video while Ralf attempts to manually track the fast-moving satellite as it flies overhead.

Ralf in Action Capturing the ISS. Photo Credit: Diana Scheilen

Ralf’s images of the ISS are are mostly selected from the AVI using Registax. He almost always use single frames, shot at 10 fps with the ATIK. Sometimes when there are more good frames available, he tries to combine more frames or parts of it to improve image quality.

Ralf is still working on a website to display his excellent images, but for now you can find more of his work on his temporary page here. His new images will be added there over time, and it also has his email address if you’d like to contact him.

Many thanks to Ralf for allowing me to showcase his inspiring images, made all the more incredible given the equipment and techniques he uses.

Thanks for reading.

Related posts:

1. International Space Station – 31st August 2009
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