Astronaut Images

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Captain Scott Kelly's Twitter feed is the best in the world (or several miles above it).

In the wake of the untimely explosion of SpaceX's rocket mission to resupply the International Space Station, Astronaut Scott Kelly—a current resident of the ISS—tweeted the following image and commentary from far above the action:

Watched #Dragon launch from @space_station Sadly failed Space is hard Teams assess below @NASAKennedy #YearInSpace

According to NASA, neither Captain Kelly nor any of the current residents of the ISS are facing imminent shortages of life's necessities. Keeping the still-difficult (not to mention dangerous) nature of space exploration in mind, the ISS has been proactively stocked with several additional months of supplies, and numerous re-supply missions were already on the schedule.

So, rest assured. Captain Kelly will not be forced to endure a 2015 update of Apollo 13 any time soon. However, we should also take a moment to appreciate the uniquely 21st century-plus paradigm showcased above: A human being provided real-time images and commentary from space. And he's not doing it through an intermediary at NASA or through some major media outlet—as was the case for the first half-century of human space exploration—he's able to communicate directly to the entire world by his old bad self.

And that's really cool!

Kelly's not only sending missives down below when something notable on the scale of a rocket explosion happens, he's tweeting several times per day. Armed with a connection that he describes as being "worse than what dial-up was like, " Kelly provides updates, posts photos, and even occasionally responds to the public.

In particular, it's Kelly's photos of the Earth taken from up high that make @stationcdrkelly the coolest Twitter feed in the world (or, even within 250 miles of it). Often using the hashtag #EarthArt or #YearInSpace, Kelly captures striking, artful images of our planet from his unique vantage point.

Kelly is currently about a quarter of the way through his year-long bid aboard the ISS, but he has already amassed an amazing library of Twitter beauty. Click through our slideshow for a little taste of just some of the amazing photos he's shared so far. Thanks, Captain Kelly. Get home safe!