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| On 10 August 2001 at 4:10 PM CDT (21:10 GMT), Space Shuttle Discovery lifted off from Launch Complex 39A, Kennedy Space Center. Mission STS-105 was all set to carry out ISS Assembly flight 7 A1. The orbiter spent the next two days chasing ISS for rendezvous and docking. Final docking was on 12 August at 1:42 PM CDT (18:42 GMT). The Crew of STS-105, along with the fresh and ready ISS Expedition Three Crew, were welomed aboard by the homebound ISS Expedition Two Crew. The traditional Russian offer of bread and salt greeted the visitors on arrival. Two EVAs (Extra Vehicular Activity or spacewalk) were conducted by Astronauts Daniel Barry and Patrick Forrester (pictured right). On the first spacewalk, the Early Ammonia Servicer (EAS pictured right) was installed, along with an external experiment package called MISSE. On the second EVA, cabling and handrails were placed along the outside of the Destiny Lab Module. Total spacewalk time was 11 hours 45 minutes. The main Cargo of STS-105 was the Leonardo MPLM and its contents. Leonardo is one of three ESA Italian built Shuttle "moving vans". The module was intalled to a hatch on the Unity Node on 13 August, and returned to Discovery's payload bay 19 August. Its payload included over a dozen experiment racks, and another 12 racks and platforms carrying the wide range of supplies needed by crews aloft. Total weight in cargo was 6775 lbs. (3073 kg). After saying their fond goodbyes, the Shuttle crew and their Expedition Two passengers sealed the hatches between the spacecraft. Undocking occurred on 20 August at 9:52 AM CDT (14:52 GMT). Discovery slipped away from ISSy and spent the next 28 hours getting ready to come home. A safe daylight landing took place on 21 August 2001 at 1:23 PM CDT (18:23 GMT). Discovery touched down on Runway 15 at the KSC Shuttle Landing Facility. Total flight duration was 11 Days 21 hours 14 minutes. Eight of those days, Discovery was docked at ISSy. |
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| STS-105
Liftoff |
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| Barry
On EVA |
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| Forrester
On EVA |
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| Installing
EAS |
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| STS-105
Landing |
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THE EVENT |
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 Gary W. Kronk's Comets and Meteor Showers This little beauty must have really lit up the skies over the Gulf Coast of Texas on the night of 12 August 2001. It's not terribly large as seen from Shuttle Discovery, being at a distance of several hundred miles/kilometers from the camera. But, it would have been quite a spectacle from directly below. Had he been out of doors at that very moment, I wonder how it would have appeared to my very good friend (Dr. Oren Swearingen DDS) who lives close to that spot in Texas. The good Doctor has collaborated on many of the anomaly reports posted here at Project P.R.O.V.E. |
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Watch for the meteor in the area of the yellow circle. The blue box represents roughly the area of zoom in the animated GIF below. |
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Did YOU see that Texas Fireball? What a beautiful mid-summers night for the folks on the Texas coast!
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There were dozens of these meteors seen on 12 August 2001. This was the peak night for the annual Perseids meteor shower. The examples presented here are only the best from the original VHS tapes of the mission. It takes a good eye, and concentration to find these for you, believe me. 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! *** 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.
© 2005 Jeff Challender
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