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STS-100 A Very Blue Object DVDs Now Available At Project P.R.O.V.E.!

On 19 April 2001, at 1:41 PM CDT (18:41 GMT), Space Shuttle Endeavour lifted off from Launch Pad 39A at the Kennedy Space Center. STS-100 spent the next two days chasing the International Space Station with an eye to rendezvous and docking. Final docking took place on 21 April at 8:59 AM CDT (13:59 GMT). When the hatches were opened, the STS-100 Crew were welcomed aboard by the space station crew of ISS Expedition Two. There followed eight days of joint operations between the two. Unfortunately, several computer crashes onboard ISSy hampered some of the planned activities. The main goal of ISS Assembly Flight 6A was to install the new robotic arm, contributed by the Canadian Space Agency, onto the exterior of the station. Two EVAs (E.xtra V.ehicular A.ctivity or spacewalk) were carried out by Canadian Astronaut Chris Hadfield and American Astronaut Scott Parazynski (pictured on EVA at right) for that purpose, also installing a new High Frequency Antenna to enhance station to ground communications. STS-100 Pilot Jeff Ashby, and ESA Astronaut Umberto Guidoni, assisted the two spacewalkers by operating the Shuttle's Canadarm during the EVAs. During the installation of Canadarm 2, there occured what was called the "Canadian Handshake", as one Canadarm grappled the other. (pictured right) The arm, known as Canadarm 2, is the most advanced robotic arm yet, bringing many new capabilities to the Space Station. (Comparison of the shuttle robotic arm with the station robotic arm.) The Italian built Raffaello MPLM-1 was deployed for delivery of cargo and supplies to ISS, and reloaded with experiments and refuse to be returned to Earth with Endeavour. The flight was successful in completing all assigned tasks. Endeavour undocked from ISSy at 12:34 AM CDT (7:34 GMT) on 29 April 2001. STS-100 and her crew landed safely two days later at Edwards Air Force Base (NASA's Dryden Research Center) in the California desert at 11:11 CDT (16:11 GMT) on 1 May 2001. Total flight duration was 11 days 21 hours 30 minutes. American entreprenour Dennis Tito (Story Here) set out on his flight to ISSy aboard a Soyuz craft launched from the Russian space center, at Baykonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, on 28 May 2001. The Soyuz docked with ISSy on 1 May 2001; the same day Endeavour landed back on Earth. Mr. Tito spent a quiet week helping his crewmates, shooting pictures of Earth through the windows, and listening to opera music. He landed safely in his Soyuz descent module back in Kazakhstan on 6 May 2001.
	STS-100 Liftoff

	Chris Hadfield

	Scott Parazynski

	"Canadian Handshake"

	STS-100 Landing

THE EVENT

On 23 April 2001 (Status Report For This Day), the new robotic arm was being put through it's shakedown tests. During this phase of operations, something very blue, and nearby was sighted. It was visible in the field of view, beyond the arm, for about five seconds before the feed was suddenly cut, as is usual in these cases. This object was moving across the field of view, but just before cut-off, it came to a complete STOP!

What it might be is unknown. It wasn't the Moon. Luna was a thin cresent in the early evening sky just past new, and only a few degrees above the horizon at sunset. The event in question took place just after sunRISE. So the Moon is not a factor. Venus was on the horizon, coming up shortly before the Sun, BUT the camera in use was pointing 180° AWAY from the Sun, toward the western horizon. Small wonder that the INCO gave us the chop so fast

THE BLUE OBJECT
	Our first look at the object, circled in yellow. Note Canadarm 2 in the foreground. The new robotic arm was being run through a series of tests at the time, having been installed only the day before.

	250% enlargement of the object circled above. Please note that now we can see a glowing "gaseous tail" trailing with the object. Bear in mind that this object is NOT a comet or meteor. There were no prominent comets in the sky in April 2001, and meteors do not light up above the atmosphere.

	This enlargement at 500% really brings out that glowing "tail". It also, unfortunately, enhances the scan lines from the television signal. Next, we'll have a look at a 500% enlargement of the robotic arm itself for comparison.

	Although the TV scan lines are quite evident, there is no sign of any "gaseous tail" like we see associated with the anomaly.

	This full view animated GIF illustrates the motion of the blue object. What you see here is all we were allowed of this object by NASA. When the cut-off came, the scene was shifted to a different camera aboard Endeavour, and "Blue" was no longer in the picture. Please note how the object comes to a stop near the end of the sequence, whilst the arm continues to swivel. It's almost as if this thing were TRYING to be seen!
ENHANCEMENTS
	This animation is zoomed in 230%, and we can follow the movement of the anomaly as it traverses above the grapple on the robotic arm.

	Here we have another 230% zoom, but the difference is we are tracking WITH the anomaly and following it across the robotic arm. Note that when the object stops, we continue to track to the right, leaving it behind.

	Now we've returned to the first 230% zoom animation, but with colors reversed. In this case, the "gaseous tail" really stands out.

	Once again, the same 230% zoom. This time, we've embossed it to enhance the shape of the object. The shape and color of this anomaly are quite reminiscient of an object seen during STS-96 in June 1999. That story is "The Flyby".

This chart provided by Heavens-Above.com, illustrates what was visible in the sky that morning, as Endeaver and ISSy cruised over Morocco. The camera in use was pointing toward the right side of this chart, where there is nothing large, or bright enough, to show up in the color cameras mounted on Shuttles.

There was no Moon. Venus was on the extreme eastern horizon, and would have required considerable magnification to have been seen as a disk, not to mention that the camera was pointed 180° in the opposite direction to the west. Mars is out of the question. It was far to the south, near the horizon, and very dim at this point. So "Blue" was almost certainly not astronomical.

What it actually was remains a mystery. It is a true anomaly.

***

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. 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.)

At the end of the day, it's up to YOU to draw your own conclusions.