On 30 November 2000 at 9:06 PM CST (3:06 GMT 1 December), Space Shuttle Endeavour lifted off from Launch Complex 39B, Kennedy Space Centre in Florida, to begin the flight of STS-97.

Docking to ISSy took place at just before 2:00 PM CST (18:00 GMT) on 2 December. The Crew of Endeavour were greeted by the three man Expedition 1 Crew of the space station, delighted to have their first visitors. The STS-97 crew was welcomed aboard by Station Commander Bill Shepherd ringing ISSy's bell in naval tradition.

This flight was critical to the assembly of the International Space Station. The mission, designated ISS 4A, saw installation of the new Solar Power Array, longest (240 ft - 73 m) man-made structure structure in space to date. This new photo-voltaic array, the first of a projected eight sets, was perched atop the new P-6 Integrated Truss Structure. The P-6 truss was attached to the central Z-1 Truss brought up in October 2000 by STS-92. This first solar array is planned to be moved to the P-5 Integrated Truss Structure when it is delivered on a future construction flight. Also part of the cargo of STS-97 were a number of new batteries for storage of the electric power generated by the array.

Three EVAs (Extra Vehicular Activity or spacewalk) were carried out, by Astronauts Joseph Tanner (pictured right) and Carlos Noriega, to accomplish this task. The solar array being the highest point expected on ISSy, the two men also placed the traditional "evergreen tree" (pictured right) at the apex, just as is done when constructing a skyscraper on Earth. Total time for the three EVAs of STS-97 was a little over 19 hours.

After a flawless performance of all mission objectives, STS-97 undocked from ISSy at 1:13 PM (19:13 GMT) on 9 December. The Shuttle flew solo for the next two days, and landed safely back at Kennedy Space Center Runway 15, at 5:04 PM CST (23:04 GMT) 11 December 2000. Total duration: 10 days 19 hours 58 minutes.

This series of pages will introduce you to meteors as seen from Space Shuttles. Sometimes they appear very strange, since we are looking down from above; a vantage point "alien" to most of us. Others look pretty much the same as they do from points on the ground, being just streaks in the atmosphere. These examples are provided in order to educate you on the difference between ordinary meteors, and some of the anomalies we will encounter amongst the pages of Project P.R.O.V.E. ..Meteor and Bolide behaviors are predictable, whereas the anomalies perform decelerations and maneuvers which meteors just cannot do.

The examples we have for you are two events from STS-97 (December 2000), and four from STS-105 (August 2001). The meteors from December were likely associated with the annual Geminids shower, as those from August are probably from the annual Perseids shower. Both of these annual meteor showers are often quite spectacular, providing wonderful viewing for the amateur astronomer and layman alike.

Much more information on meteors in general (and specific events as well) is available by visiting the web pages at the handy links below. They are in no particular order, all of them being excellent sources of information.

International Meteor Organization

The American Meteor Society

Bolides

Gary W. Kronk's Comets and Meteor Showers

Leonid Meteors

Meteorites and Impacts

Meteoroids and Meteorites

Meteors and Meteor Showers

Meteors.com

Well, how about we move on to our first meteor example. It's a nice one from STS-97. December 2000. It's a very fine Bolide which lit up the night, and exploded in a giant flash! This one took place over the extreme South Atlantic Ocean. We can only imagine what it must have looked like from the suface of the sea below. The Antarctic was in sight, and the milkyness along the limb of Earth was the Aurora Australis.

Per usual, the night view from the Shuttle camera has a mask of heavy "snow" imposed over it. This is so common, it gives the impression of normalcy. It is NOTHING of the sort! See these stories for more on this.

STS-104 Ridiculous Snow Games!

STS-105 Snow Games!

ISS EVA 10b Snow Games AGAIN!

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At all times during this incident, the camera was under the control of the INCO in Houston Mission Control.

(INCO - INstrument & Communication Officer - The man in Houston Mission Control Center who is responsible for operating the Shuttle payload bay, and robotic arm, cameras. He also remotely operates the helmet cameras in space suits. In the case of ISS, this officer is referred to as the CATO - Communications And Tracking Officer. In both cases, these persons CONTROL everything which is PERMITTED to go out on broadcast to the public. It is a commonly believed falacy that the cameras are operated by Astronauts & Cosmonauts on the Shuttles, and Space Station. Very little camera work is done by the crews. They're way too busy for that.)

© 2005 Jeff Challender