Super Bowl 2016 Flashed Past Scott Kelly at 17,500 Miles Per Hour

Summary: Super Bowl 2016 flashed past Scott Kelly at 17,500 miles per hour as he snapped photos during his 317th day at the International Space Station.

Super Bowl 50's night lights, as viewed from the International Space Station: Scott Kelly @StationCDRKelly, via Twitter Feb. 7, 2016

Super Bowl 2016 flashed past Scott Kelly at 17,500 miles (28,000 kilometers) per hour as the NASA astronaut snapped a photo of Levi’s Stadium, the Field of Jeans, Sunday, Feb. 7, his 317th day in space aboard the International Space Station.

Kelly’s last of four Super Bowl 50-themed posts on Sunday, released at 11:42 p.m., observed: “#SanFrancisco, Looks like a great night down there after #SB50!” The attached photo of the San Francisco Bay Area’s night lights adds to Kelly’s portfolio of stunningly illuminated nighttime Earth cityscapes.

Kelly’s flyovers, documented via Twitter with four postings Sunday, Feb. 7, and one posting Monday, Feb. 8, were not the only opportunities for viewing, albeit at an extraordinary distance, Super Bowl 50. NASA’s Mission Control at Houston’s Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center beamed the game live between the Denver Broncos and the Carolina Panthers for viewing on a 65-inch, High Definition (HD) screen by International Space Station Expedition 46 crewmembers.

“Crew will be able to watch in real time; it will be sent up as usual for live events from Mission Control Houston,” NASA spokesperson Dan Huot explained in an email to Space.com. “It’s a nominal off-duty Sunday for the entire crew, no additional tasks for them aside from exercise.”

ISS Expedition 46 includes NASA astronaut Scott Kelly as expedition commander, NASA astronaut Timothy Kopra, and two Russian cosmonauts, Mikhail Korniyenko and Sergey Volkov. The sixth crewmember, Timothy Peake, boarded the International Space Station Tuesday, Dec. 15, 2015, as the first British European Space Agency (ESA) astronaut.

In his daily morning greeting to the world via Twitter, Kelly opened Sunday with a post at 9:00 a.m.: “#GoodMorning #SanFrancisco! Hoping for a great day today!” He attached a day view of the San Francisco Bay Area.

Kelly’s second Super Bowl 50-themed post, released at 4:32 p.m., noted: “Hosted #SuperBowl party on @space_station, but no one showed up. I would have served nachos!” His attached photo showed a screenshot of football’s biggest game as broadcast on the International Space Station television.

ISS Expedition 46 crewmembers viewed the Broncos-Panthers game on a 65-inch, High Definition (HD) screen: Scott Kelly @StationCDRKelly, via Twitter Feb. 8, 2016

At 4:58 p.m., Kelly posted his third Super Bowl-themed message for the day on his Twitter account: “Got to see the #SuperBowl in person after all! But at 17,500MPH, it didn’t last long. #YearInSpace.”

The host for Super Bowl 50, Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, California, appears as the oval shape in the center of Kelly’s altitudinous photographic closeup. The International Space Station (ISS) circles Earth every 90 minutes at a speed of about 5 miles (8 kilometers) per second and at an average altitude of 250 miles (402 kilometers).

With the next day, Monday, Feb. 8, not even an hour old, Kelly greeted his followers, currently numbering 870,000, with Super Bowl 50 still on his mind. “To all my friends in #Vegas for #SB50, sorry I couldn’t make it this year. See you soon!” Kelly tweeted, with a photo of Nevada’s glittering oasis, at 12:46 a.m.

Russian cosmonaut Mikhail Kornienko is partnering with Scott Kelly in a joint one year mission aboard the International Space Station. Their one year in space began Friday, March 27, 2015.

Photos and tweets that document that Super Bowl 2016 flashed past Scott Kelly at 17,500 miles per hour show that Expedition 46's commander stays in-the-loop despite his out-of-the-loop distance.

International Space Station's view of Las Vegas, Nevada: Scott Kelly @StationCDRKelly, via Twitter Feb. 8, 2016

Acknowledgment

My special thanks to talented artists and photographers/concerned organizations who make their fine images available on the internet.

Image credits:

Super Bowl 50's night lights, as viewed from the International Space Station: Scott Kelly @StationCDRKelly, via Twitter Feb. 7, 2016, @ https://twitter.com/StationCDRKelly/status/696600083077406720

ISS Expedition 46 crewmembers viewed the Broncos-Panthers game on a 65-inch, High Definition (HD) screen: Scott Kelly @StationCDRKelly, via Twitter Feb. 8, 2016, @ https://twitter.com/StationCDRKelly/status/696491770884915201

International Space Station's view of Las Vegas, Nevada: Scott Kelly @StationCDRKelly, via Twitter Feb. 8, 2016, @ https://twitter.com/StationCDRKelly/status/696616018261778432

For further information:

Clemens, Danny. "NASA Astronaut Spies on Super Bowl From Space." Space.com > Spaceflight. Feb. 8, 2016.
Available @ http://www.space.com/31863-nasa-astronaut-spies-super-bowl-space.html

Kooser, Amanda. "See an astronaut's view of Super Bowl 50 from orbit." CNet > Sci-Tech. Feb. 8, 2016.
Available @ http://www.cnet.com/uk/news/see-an-astronauts-view-of-the-super-bowl-50-action-from-space/

Lewin, Sarah. "Touchdown! Yes, Astronauts in Space Can Watch the Super Bowl." Space.com > Spaceflight. Feb. 5, 2016.
Available @ http://www.space.com/31834-astronauts-will-watch-super-bowl-in-space.html

Marriner, Derdriu. "First British Astronaut Tim Peake Makes Space History Dec. 15." Earth and Space News. Tuesday, Dec. 15, 2015.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2015/12/first-british-astronaut-tim-peake-makes.html

Scott Kelly‏ @StationCDRKelly. "Hosted #SuperBowl party on @space_station, but no one showed up. I would have served nachos! #YearInSpace." Twitter. Feb. 7, 2016.
Available @ https://twitter.com/StationCDRKelly/status/696491770884915201

Scott Kelly‏ @StationCDRKelly. "#SanFrancisco, Looks like a great night down there after #SB50! #SuperBowl #YearInSpace!" Twitter. Feb. 7, 2016.
Available @ https://twitter.com/StationCDRKelly/status/696600083077406720

Scott Kelly‏ @StationCDRKelly. "To all my friends in #Vegas for #SB50, sorry I couldn't make it this year. See you soon! #YearInSpace." Twitter. Feb. 8, 2016.
Available @ https://twitter.com/StationCDRKelly/status/696616018261778432