Gallery: Photo Gallery: Best Space Station Cupola Views
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Space-faring humans have called the International Space Station home for 10 years now, but the orbital laboratory only recently got a window worthy of its stunning views. The Cupola (pronounced "kyoo-pel-ah") is a seven-paned geometric dome that boasts the biggest spacecraft window ever: a central, circular pane with a 31-inch diameter. Combined with six other trapezoidal windows, the device offers a nearly unimpeded view of space and the big blue marble zipping by 220 miles below. Since Feb. 15, 2010, astronauts, cosmonauts and others armed with ridiculously huge cameras and lenses have documented the Cupola experience. Here we offer the best shots taken from, and of, the module windows so far.
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Italy ----- Sicily and the Italy’s distinctive boot shape, along with the Mediterranean Sea, are clearly visible in this shot taken from the Cupola on Oct. 28, 2010. The Soyuz spacecraft appears at the bottom left. Yellowish air glow at Earth's geodesic boundary highlights the thin atmosphere secured by our home planet's gravity. *Image: NASA ([hi-res](http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/gallery/images/station/crew-25/html/iss025e009840.html))*
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Cairo ----- Bright lights engulf Egypt’s capital city on the Mediterranean coast, and the Nile River flows with its own brilliance. City lights also engulf the Sinai Peninsula (right). *Image: NASA ([hi-res](http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/gallery/images/station/crew-25/html/iss025e009858.html))*
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Florida ------- Florida, the home of Kennedy Space Center — where U.S. astronauts launch to the International Space Station — glows like a beacon in the night. The Gulf of Mexico and Atlantic Ocean are also visible. At the top, you can see a piece of Georgia state. *Image: NASA ([hi-res](http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/gallery/images/station/crew-25/html/iss025e010716.html))*
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Gulf Coast ---------- Mobile, Alabama, as well as New Orleans (just above the Soyuz spacecraft in front of it) show up well in this shot taken from the Cupola. Cities such as Jackson, Shreveport, Dallas and Forth Worth stand out along Interstate 20 and, at left, so do Little Rock and Oklahoma City. *Image: NASA ([hi-res](http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/gallery/images/station/crew-25/html/iss025e010008.html))*
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Special Delivery ---------------- Multicolored tape enshrouds the Cupola's seven window panes in a clean room at Alenia Spazio in Turin, Italy, before launch. In addition to captivating views of Earth, the Cupola allows astronauts guiding robotics to see their work in progress. *Image: NASA/Alenia Spazio ([hi-res](http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/gallery/images/station/cupola/html/jsc2004e44650.html))*
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Spacewalk --------- As the Earth zooms by below him, astronaut Nicholas Patrick of the STS-130 space shuttle crew finishes removing insulation blankets and bolts from the Cupola's window panes in this February 17, 2010 photo. *Image: NASA ([hi-res](http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/gallery/images/shuttle/sts-130/html/iss022e066886.html))*
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Cosmonaut --------- Oleg Kotov, a space station commander during Expedition 23, peeks out of the cupola to catch a sweeping view of the Earth. *Image: NASA ([hi-res](http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/gallery/images/station/crew-23/html/iss023e042386.html))*
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Sunrise ------- As orbital sunrise dawns, the sun’s blinding rays peek out from behind space station equipment. *Image: NASA ([hi-res](http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/gallery/images/shuttle/sts-130/html/iss022e068276.html))*
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Soichi Noguchi -------------- Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency astronaut Soichi Noguchi of the space shuttle’s STS-130 crew wields a digital SLR camera to capture a view of Earth from the Cupola. *Image: NASA ([hi-res](http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/gallery/images/shuttle/sts-130/html/s130e010380.html)[](http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/gallery/images/shuttle/sts-130/html/s130e010380.html))*
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Kazakhstan ---------- The space station’s constantly shifting S-shaped path over the Earth allows astronauts and cosmonauts to peer down at most areas of the planet. Here, the Syr Dar’ya River floodplain in Kazakhstan meanders across the region. Dark areas are brush, highlighting the river's snaking behavior over time. *Image: NASA ([hi-res](http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/gallery/images/station/crew-25/html/iss025e005504.html))*
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Earthly Silhouette ------------------ Astronaut Jeffrey Williams' silhouette stands out against a vista of the Earth behind him. *Image: NASA ([hi-res](http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/gallery/images/station/crew-22/html/iss022e083739.html))*
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Workstation ----------- Not just camera-wielding spacefliers can fit into the Cupola — a fully outfitted workstation that controls robotic arms on the space station does, too. *Image: NASA ([hi-res](http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/gallery/images/station/crew-23/html/iss023e039983.html))*
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Room for a View --------------- The seven-member crew of NASA’s STS-131 space shuttle mission cram into the Cupola, leaving room for the 31-inch-pane's full glory. Counterclockwise, from top left: Alan Poindexter; James P. Dutton Jr.; Dorothy Metcalf-Lindenburger, Rick Mastracchio, Naoko Yamazaki, Clayton Anderson and Stephanie Wilson. *Image: NASA ([hi-res](http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/gallery/images/shuttle/sts-131/html/s131e010051.html))*
