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On 5 December 2001 at 4:19 PM CST (22:19 GMT), Space Shuttle Endeavour lifted off from Launch Complex 39B at Kennedy Space Center, in Florida. STS-108 spent the next 46 hours chasing ISSy for a rendezvous and docking. The STS-108 Crew were accompanied by the fresh ISS Expedition Four Crew on their journey to assume command of ISS for their increment aboard. Final docking took place 7 December at 2:03 PM CST (20:03 GMT). When hatches were opened, the Shuttle crew were greeted by the ISS Expedition Three Crew. There ensued eight days of joint operations. A single EVA (Extra-Vehicular Activity or spacewalk) was mounted in support of ISS Assembly Flight UF-1 on 10 December. Astronauts Linda Godwin and Daniel Tani spent 4 hours 12 minutes outside the spacecraft installing insulation blankets around the rotation gimbals on the main Solar Array atop the P-6 Truss. In addition, a number of "get ahead" tasks were carried out in anticipation of the STS-110 EVAs in April 2002. The main Cargo of STS-108 was carried in the Raffaello MPLM (Multi-Purpose Logistics Module). Inside were 12 racks and platforms carrying close to three tons (2.7 metric tonnes) of equipment and supplies for ISSy. Most of the equipment was intended for the Destiny Laboratory Module. Endeavour also contributed a large quantity of water for stowage and use aboard ISSy. The Starshine 2 Satellite (pictured right) was launched from Endeavour. Middle-school students from 26 coutries around the world would follow its orbit in order to calculate upper atmospheric densities. On 15 December, STS-108 undocked from ISSy at 11:28 AM CST (17:28 GMT), to fly solo for the remainder of the mission. Endeavour landed safely at the KSC Shuttle Landing Facility on 17 December 2001, at 11:55 AM CST (17:55 GMT). All mission goals were met successfully. Total flight duration: 11 Days 19 hours 36 minutes. |
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| STS-108
Liftoff |
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| Godwin
& Tani |
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| Inside
ISSy |
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| Starshine
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| STS-108
Landing |
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THE EVENT |
A few hours after liftoff, Endeavour was cruising silently above the ocean between South Africa and Antarctica. One of the forward payload bay cameras was pointed over the side of the spacecraft into deep space. The telescopic zoom feature was employed as well. Lo and behold, there were strange and anomalous objects out there. Curiously, several of them displayed behavior that is completely uncharacteristic of ice chips and debris. This being only the first hour of Flight Day Two, it is highly unlikely that Endeavour was engaged in a Water Dump. Prior to docking with ISSy, all excess water is bagged, to be delivered and used aboard the Space Station. Waste accumulation would have been absolutely minimal this early in the flight. The waste water dump is a routine operation performed by Shuttle's on orbit. A water dump is accomplished by spraying excess water out into space through a nozzle on the side of the orbiter. Not only is waste water jettisoned, but also accumulated pure water from the onboard fuel cells. These use hydrogen and oxygen gas (H2 & O2) to generate electric power for the Shuttles. They also produce copious amounts of plain water as a byproduct. Due to landing weight restrictions, this water can't be stored for return to Earth. As much of this water as possible is pumped into large plastic containers for use aboard ISSy. The rest (Along with waste from toilets, space suits, and condensation from the air.) is collected and squirted into the vacuum of outer space, to be lost forever. ISSy doesn't have fuel cells. She relies on large arrays of solar panels for the passive generation of electricity from sunlight. Water is therefore very precious on the station. Every drop must be imported from Earth via Shuttles, and Russian Progress freighters launched three or four times a year. Even urine is recycled through a Russian machine known as Elektron, and converted back to hydrogen and oxygen. The oxygen is used for breathing, and the plain hydrogen dumped overboard into space. In the first days on orbit, Shuttles commonly shed what NASA calls "dandruff". This usually consists of ice peeling off the main engine bells, and bits of debris released from the payload bay upon the opening of the doors. The fact which applies here is that once in motion, anything in space will continue on the same course unless influenced by outside forces. They should NEVER just hang about motionless, as one group of objects does in this incident. The most spectacular of these were: 1) A group of three objects which hung motionlessly until a fourth joined them. They then flew off toward top-screen together. 2) An object crossing the upper part of the field of view at a liesurely pace until a much brighter one passed it by on an arcing trajectory. Then the first object sped up considerably, making a sharp instantaneous right turn, streaking out of the field of view. On this page we will concern ourselves mainly with #1 above, "The Group". The other objects seen in this event are dealt with in Part 2 of this story. Since the scene was shot in telescopic zoom, and the objects were in crisp focus, the camera lens would necessarily have been set to "infinity". So it's pretty safe to assume they were at some distance from Endeavour. Subsequent to this event, the INCO very rapidly reduced the zoom to zero and cast his camera around the payload bay, where there were no unsettling anomalies flying about. The annoying bars stretching horizontally across the entire scene were in the original signal, as broadcast by NASA Select TV |
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SETTING THE SCENE |
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This frame shows us where the incident took place. As can be seen, Shuttle was almost due south of the tip of the Cape of Good Hope in Africa. This is what the INCO cut to after returning our camera view to the payload bay. Endeavour is circled in yellow, and her orbital path delineated in red. |
| Please note the upper left corner of this frame. The location of the camera in use during this event is circled in yellow. This particular color unit was mounted in the forward right corner of the payload bay, just behind the aft bulkhead of the crew cabin. The yellow arrow shows the direction in which it was pointed. The view was out toward deep space, roughly in the direction high above Cape Town, South Africa. Local time on the ground was mid-morning in late spring. | |
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The purpose of this animation is to demonstrate that the camera was in tight telescopic zoom when the objects were in view. We can see that the camera was backed out of zoom. The "milky" rings, which were lens flares caused by the Sun, faded away. |
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This frame has been marked to assist you in where to look. This is the "full view", as orginally seen "live" on NASA Select TV. |
| "The Group" of three which hung motionlessly at first, is inside the green oval. When the object in the yellow circle joins them, they all fly together toward the top. When the bright fast object, in the red circle passes the one in the blue circle to upper right, it changes its direction, and speeds up considerably. (These two more closely examined in Part 2) All of the colored arrows indicate direction of travel for the respective objects. This is NOT normal behavior for ice flakes and bits of debris. Next we will have a good close look at... |
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THE ANOMALOUS GROUP |
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All three of the animated GIFs to come have been digitally zoomed 150%, and are FIVE TIMES normal speed, in order to get a better look at the anomalies in question. Option: We understand that these objects are rather subtle, and may be difficult to follow in the small animations below. For the 720x480 version of these graphics, just click on the image. Recommended for broadband and DSL users only. These are large files and take a LONG time to load for dial-up users. |
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This is the normal color version. Watch carefully to see how these objects behave. |
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Here we have the colors reversed so that the anomalies stand out black against a light background. |
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Finally, this animation is embossed to make the objects stand out in 3D against a neutral grey background. In this one, they are perhaps easiest to see. |
These objects don't act like they are mere space junk coming off the Shuttle, do they? I believe this event provides evidence that there are "things" out there which NASA would rather we didn't see. I don't know what they are, but they are not what the debunkers would assure you they are. They are certainly NOT the Moon, stars, or planets. Ice and debris don't have engines to permit them to change course and speed with sudden aplomb. Man-made satellites would never move in this fashion either. After reviewing all the evidence, I believe you will concur with my personal conclusion that these objects do not behave as normal ice or debris. They are not astronomical, and they are not man-made satellites or spacecraft. Ergo: The objects are unknowns. *** At all times during this event, 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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