By now I'm sure we've all heard about STS-107 / Columbia and the tragic fate suffered by her and her Brave Last Crew on 1 February 2003. We'll touch only briefly on that painful chapter in the history of space exporation here. Suffice it to say, that until that last terrible moment, the flight of STS-107 was all routine for the Astronauts aboard. They did their jobs, carried out the various planned experiments, and enjoyed their time on orbit.

It took me nearly two years to work up the courage to comb through my 38 six hour VHS tapes of the STS-107 flight. Until September 2004, the prospect of watching all those smiling Astronauts, and knowing they were gone, was just too much heartache to bear. It also seemed to me that some might think it rather morbid (and disrespectful to those lost) to expose the anomalies and inconsistencies which appeared on those tapes. But I feel now that Shuttle flight STS-114 has been successful, it's safe to say we have "moved on". ...........I sincerely hope you'll agree.

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Space Shuttle Columbia lifted off from Launch Complex 39A, Kennedy Space Center, in Florida at 9:39 AM CST (15:39 GMT) on 16 January 2003. At the time, no one knew it was to be her tragic last flight. Shortly after liftoff, a chunk of insulation broke free of the External Tank and fatally impacted the leading edge of the left wing.

The Crew of STS-107 conducted in excess of 80 different scientific experiments during their mission. These included Earth and space science, advanced technology development, and (ironically!) astronaut health and safety. Most of the experiments were located in the SPACEHAB Research Double Module (RDM), in Columbia's cargo bay. This was the RDMs only flight.

To allow for research to be carried out on a 24 hour a day basis, the crew were separated into two teams; Red Team and Blue Team.

Columbia broke up on re-entry over Texas 16 minutes before her scheduled landing at the KSC Shuttle Landing Facility on 1 February 2003. Total flight duration: 15 days 22 hours 20 minutes. All aboard lost their lives. There were no more Shuttle flight for the next 30 months to allow NASA the time necessary to evaluate the accident, and implement procedures to prevent a repetition of the disaster.

For many years, NASA have purported that there is a place (Stretching from Siberia in the north, across India and the Indian Ocean, all the way to the Antarctic in the extreme south) where there is no communication with their spacecraft. This place is called "The Zone of Exclusion" (ZOE). The entire allegation is pure falsehood. [This story is covered in some detail HERE, and HERE.] The charade is played out by all concerned as if it were fact. This includes the flight crews, and ground crews, of both the American and Russian space programs. Reason: UNKNOWN

In addition, NASA personell have claimed (In a private capacity) that the NASA space communications network does NOT use ground stations. It is further claimed the ALL communications traffic from orbiting manned craft are handled exclusively by the TDRS global relay system. This is a claim which is patently absurd, and can be proven to be totally false using data from NASA itself. By the way, these bogus claims were made in response to my essays on Sasha's Dinosaurs, The Canadian ZOE, and The Hawiian ZOE.

A large percentage of ANY "live" manned mission coverage from NASA Select TV is devoted to the computer generated global maps. On this map, used in Mission Control Houston, one can SOMETIMES see the panoply of ground stations, and their attendant ranges, marked out for numerous far flung spots on the Earth. At other times there are none but those maintained across Russia and Siberia by the space program of the CIS (Commonwealth of Idependent States...a loose federation of republics formerly belonging to the Soviet Union, including Russia.). It can safely be said that one of NASA's most consistent inconsistencies is the way they acknowledge their tracking and data relay system. One must be ever vigilant to get hold of the actual "Big Picture". WHY NASA seems so uncomfortable with truth about their communication system eludes me, and many other observers.

Here we will examine two examples of such. These were stills taken from video recorded during the flight of STS-107. Each shows the ZOE, Diego Garcia Island, and the Guam Remote Ground Terminal (GRGT). There is also a ground communications station at Seychelles marked in the Western Indian Ocean, not far from Africa. Let us refer now to the first of these still frames captured from the original VHS tapes of the STS-107 mission.

It all becomes clearer with the added markings. This frame is from Flight Day ONE of STS-107. Shuttle Columbia is in center. The ZOE is very roughly outlined in red.

If you look closely, there are several thin white circles on the map. DGI is the circle in the middle of the ZOE, and the GRGT (Guam Remote Ground Terminal) is the remote, line of sight, facility for relaying signals and data from TDRS-Z (Tracking & Data Relay Satellite-Z), posted directly above the ZOE.

This frame is from flight day Three of STS-107. One can see three of these range circles radiating from ground stations in the Indian and Pacific Oceans.

Just peeking over the eastern horizon of the Pacific (lower right), we can see the range perimeter of the Hawaiian station, whose existence was specifically denied by NASA personell in response to the Sasha's Dinosaurs article. This is speculation (Since I've never been to the Guam station) but I postulate that the "notch" in the coverage of the GRGT station's coverage is probably caused by an intervening mountain, or other geographical feature.

The Seychelles station is pointed out for you also. It is just off the eastern coast of Africa. Incidentally, the Seychelles Islands are where the native people of Diego Garcia live in exile. They were banished from their homes by the British Government in 1970, to make way for the United States Military.

This interesting picture is from my VHS recordings of the flight of STS-108, in December 2001. It stands out differently in that on the entire Earth, this map only shows THREE communication stations! One in the Eastern USA, one in Spain, and DIEGO GARCIA, smack dab in the center of the ZOE!

ZOE outlined in red. Diego Garcia circled in green. ZOE label circled in yellow.

It should be fairly obvious by now that there is no REAL Zone Of Exclusion. It's only a myth convenient for someone's agenda, whatever that may be. There are no less than two ground stations (Diego Garcia & The Seychelles), and one TDRS satellite (Including the GRGT to relay from that TDRS to the White Sands Complex in New Mexico USA) covering the ZOE. Yet...NASA maintains, to this day, that there are no communications within the so-called ZOE.

Uh Huh, Suuure, and if you beieve that, I have a bridge for sale in Brooklyn...(CHEAP!!)

Why they are LYING to the entire world, on a routine basis for well over a decade now, remains a dark mystery.

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

© 2005 Jeff Challender