Earth Observations taken by the Expedition 14 crew

ISS014-E-07480 (11 Nov. 2006) --- Dyess Air Force Base is featured in this image photographed by an Expedition 14 crewmember on the International Space Station. Dyess Air Force Base, located near the central Texas city of Abilene, is the home of the 7th Bomb Wing and 317th Airlift Groups of the United States Air Force. The Base also conducts all initial Air Force combat crew training for the B-1B Lancer aircraft. The main runway is approximately 5 kilometers in length to accommodate the large bombers and cargo aircraft at the base -- many of which are parked in parallel rows on the base tarmac. Lieutenant Colonel William E. Dyess, for whom the base is named, was a highly decorated pilot, squadron commander, and prisoner of war during World War II. The nearby town of Tye, Texas was established by the Texas and Pacific Railway in 1881, and expanded considerably following reactivation of a former air field as Dyess Air Force Base in 1956. Airfields and airports are useful sites for astronauts to hone their long camera lens photographic technique to acquire high resolution images. The sharp contrast between highly reflective linear features, such as runways, with darker agricultural fields and undisturbed land allows fine focusing of the cameras. This on-the-job training is key for obtaining high resolution imagery of Earth, as well as acquiring inspection photographs of space shuttle thermal protection tiles during continuing missions to the International Space Station.