SM3B - Columbia disappears into the distance

This image was taken minutes after the launch of Space Shuttle Columbia (the very small dot at the centre). At the top of the image the cloud from the solid booster separation is seen. The boosters themselves can be see below leaving a smoke trail as they make their way to the ocean surface where a ship waits to pick them up.

The Space Shuttle Colombia was launched on 1 March 2002 for the fourth Hubble Servicing Mission ( SM3B ).