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STS-102 The Washington Sequence Part One DVDs Now Available At Project P.R.O.V.E.!

At 5:42 AM CST (11:42 GMT), on the morning of 8 March 2001, Space Shuttle Discovery lit her mighty rockets and lifted off from the wetlands of Launch Complex 39B, Kennedy Space Center Florida. STS-102 spent the next 44 hours chasing the International Space Station, making rendezvous on 10 March. Docking to ISSy occured at 12:38 AM CST (8:38 GMT). The Crew of STS-102, along with the incoming ISS Expedition 2 Crew, were greeted by the ISS Expedition 1 Crew when the hatches were opened. All were rung aboard, in fine Naval tradition, by station Commander Bill Shepherd. The primary purpose of ISS Assembly Flight 5A.1 was ISS Expedition Crew exchange. The first crew was going home, and the fresh second crew taking over for their increment. The Italian contribution to the ISS program is the MPLM, of which there are three. On this flight, the Leonardo MPLM "moving van" was employed for the first time. Carrying nearly 15 tons of supplies, the largest portion of the cargo was composed of instruments and equipment for bringing the Destiny Laboratory Module up to function. The Destiny Module had been delivered just a month earlier aboard STS-98. Two EVAs (Extra Vehicular Activity or spacewalk) were carried out by Astronauts Andy Thomas, Susan Helms, Paul Richards, and Jim Voss. Both EVAs were successful, and included work on the MPLM to prepare it for docking to PMA-3. The spacewalks also accomplished preparation work for ISS Assembly Flight 6A, to come later. STS-102 landed safely at Kennedy Space Center Runway 15 on 21 March 2001 at 1:33 AM CST (7:33 GMT). The Crew of Discovery flawlessly accomplished all of their assigned goals. Total flight duration was 12 days 19 hours 52 minutes.
	STS-102 Launch

	Inside ISSy

	Voss On EVA

	Helms On EVA

	Leonardo MPLM

THE EVENT

As the Shuttle flew over the State of Washington, a low-light black and white payload bay cameras was in use, pointing Earthward. It was zoomed in for a close look. The entire sequence was recorded on VHS tape, by this writer, from "live" broadcast on NASA Select TV.

As it would happen, something unusual took place at this time. Many objects, the majority of which were almost surely ice and/or debris, were moving about in the early morning Sun, while eastern Washington far below was still in pre-dawn darkness. However, there were THREE objects in the field of view which were almost certainly NOT ice and/or debris. The objects in question performed maneuvers which in my opinion are not possible for unpowered ice flakes. These things were starting, stopping, accelerating, and making sudden angled turns. Not your average behaviour for bits of ice. It's hard to imagine exactly HOW these three objects might have executed their observed motion due to a firing of the RCS ( Reaction Control System ) jets.

This event was the inspiration for Project P.R.O.V.E. As I watched the objects perform their strange antics, I thought of my good friend who lives in this region of eastern Washington; being overflown at that very moment. I wondered if, were he outdoors and looking heavenward at that particular moment, would he have seen these objects near Shuttle Discovery? Although there were numerous objects "buzzing" around, we will focus our attention on just one of them, in this examination of Part 1 of the Washington Sequence, for its anomalous behavior. ( Part 2 Here )

Below are some photos, and animated GIFs taken from the original raw tape. These are presented here for your perusal. Let's have a look together then, shall we?

SETTING THE SCENE
	This animation shows where Discovery was at the point when the INCO cut off the "live" television feed from the Shuttle payload bay camera.

	This is the object, in circle, which we will watch in our first animation. Please remember that these animations are composed of still frames taken at fraction of a second intervals. The entire event took just 8 seconds in real time. The anomaly comes down from top screen, and makes a turn to the left. The Red dots crudely indicate the path this object took.

	At this point, the object makes its turn to the left. Ice and debris cannot accomplish this feat simply because they have no power. Bear in mind also that this view is in telescopic zoom, and the objects are not close in to the Shuttle itself. Next is the animated GIF.
THE FIRST ANOMALY
	Watch closely, and you will see the object in question make its turn toward left screen. What, in space and above the atmosphere, can do this? Earthly airplanes are far too small to be seen from the altitude of ISSy and Shuttle. At 240+ miles such things as even supertanker ships are not visible, day or night. Now we will move forward to...
ENHANCEMENTS
	The animated GIF at left is a 250% zoom on the object itself. We hoped that it makes the anomaly easier to follow. Now there can be little doubt that the object executed a gentle turn to the west.
The original video was shot by a low-light black and white payload bay camera aboard Discovery, and it was in telescopic zoom at the time. What that tells us is that the object in question was probably NOT right up close to the Shuttle, and subject to being deflected by an automatic firing of the RCS jets (Reaction Control System). Our friend, and professional astronomer, Mr. Lan Fleming has obtained the Shuttle telemetry records for this specific period. His studies have determined that there were NO RCS firings during the relevant time.

	This animated GIF is the same 250% zoom, but with the colors reversed to make the object stand out.

	Last animation for this examination. It is the same 250% zoom. It has been embossed so that the anomaly can be seen against a neutral background.

The unexplained behavior of this object puts it in the category of Unknown. What it IS remains a mystery.

***

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.)

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