Visible imagery from Space Shuttle mission STS‐9 (Spacelab 1) has been analysed for the ram angle effect and the absolute intensity of glow. The data are compared with earlier measurements and the anomalous high intensities at large ram angles are confirmed. Absolute intensities of the ram glow on the shuttle tile, at 6563 Å, are observed to be ˜20 times more intense than those measured on the AE‐E spacecraft. Implications of these observations for an existing theory of glow involving NO2are pres