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.

Our friend and colleague, Dr. Oren Swearingen (DDS) of Texas, video taped the flight of STS-108 from beginning to end. His sharp eyes caught something unusual during the "live" broadcast when the Raffaello MPLM was undocked from the Space Station and re-stowed in it's payload bay cradle. The Dr. noticed a bright object in the distance which seemed to appear from nowhere, become very bright, and begin to flash almost as if signalling in Morse Code. That was strange enough.

Later that same day, when NASA aired the "Flight Day Highlights", the part of the film with the object had been edited out! The anomaly had been literally removed before the broadcast. The good Dr's sharp ears had caught the change because of something the Commentator had said in both versions.

Dr. Swearingen went back to the live tape and watched it again. The key was in the audio track. The NASA announcer was describing events as they took place and mentioned that at that moment, the Shuttle-Station Complex was orbiting "over the northern porsh of..portion of New Zealand". The words were identical in both versions. The anomaly had been removed from the daily Highlights film, and a clip from later on in the operation had been substituted! There can be no doubt of this.

One has to wonder...IF this object were nothing to be concerned about, WHY was it deliberately taken out before re-broadcast then? What we have here is blatant a case of NASA censorship. They were lying again, and Dr. Swearingen's sharp eyes and ears caught them "RED-HANDED"!

Original Video Courtesy of Dr. Oren Swearingen (DDS)

In this animated GIF, we have a comparison between the two versions of the video broadcast by NASA Select TV. Remember, the audio track is IDENTICAL in both.

The yellow boxes show the attitude of the solar arrays on the Russian modules.

The yellow arrow indicates the differences in shadowing. There are other changes as well. Raffaello is further away from the Unity Node in the replay, for one. In addition, there is a small change in perspective too. The robotic arm on the Station had moved slightly.

These differences prove that there is a time shift in relation to the audio track. SOMEONE at NASA decided that we should never see that anomaly again!

So...let's move on and have a good look at the strange object Dr. Swearingen saw, and recorded for all of us to see in spite of the best efforts of NASA's censors. The animations below are all at 200% zoom, and speeded up five times normal.

What this is remains a mystery. But we might call it...

Here we have the normal color view. The video clip has been brightened a few points to enhance the object.

Please note that it doesn't actually disappear between "signals". Instead, it looks like a vague smudge when not lighted up.

WHAT WAS IN THE SKY?

© 2004 Heavens-Above

This whole sky chart, from Heavens Above, is for the time period in which Raffaello was being moved. There was no Moon visible at this time. Other than Jupiter, there were no other planets in the sky.

The color cameras aboard shuttle's are not sensitive enough to register astronomical objects like planets and stars. This is especially true in daylight.

Occasionally the Moon can be seen in the color cameras, but only as a small dot drifting steadily across the field of view as our spacecraft streak along at 17,500 mph (28,000 km/h). This object was absolutely rock still in the sky the entire time it was in view. Even if the Moon had been behaving strangely enough to be stationary in the camera that day, it does NOT blink!

The anomaly was not a lens flare either. Those are very common, and move slowly across the field of view as the angle of the Sun changes in relation to the camera. They certainly don't blink in rapid succession.

In the end, IF the anomaly were just a lens flare or heavenly body, there would have been no motive for tampering with the original video. Fact is, NASA DID JUST THAT!

Now we will have a look at what the NASA commentator said during both broadcast versions of the event.

C = The NASA Commentator who remarks on events as they unfold

All Orange italics mine for emphasis, CAPITALS reflect the voiced emphasis of the respective speaker. Hesitations and grammatical errors are left in as originally spoken. JC.

C: "And the Shuttle's robotic arm now in motion, as the Space Station Complex orbits, uh, ...two hundred and forty five statute miles over..the northern porsh of, portion of New Zealand ... (7 Second Pause) ... In the process of moving Raffaello back into the Shuttle's cargo bay, uh, takes about 30 minutes ... We are delaying today's Mission Status Briefing, which had been planned at 4 PM, until, uh, Rafaello is back in the Shuttle cargo bay."

It was that mispronunciation of the word portion (porsh) which caught Dr. Swearingen's attention. That little word is what made the Dr. realize that the video in the "Flight Day Highlights" replay had been tampered with! Had this tiny faux pas on the part of NASA's commentator not been "stuck in his head", Dr. Swearingen might possibly have missed the discepancy.

NASA deliberatetly CUT the video clip, and re-timed the audio track, of the most significant event of STS-108! Makes you wonder what else ended up "on the cutting room floor".

So, this object remains a very strange mystery. Never before, or since, have I seen video from spaceflight in which an anomaly appeared to be "signalling" to the camera. This incident is unique. Thank you Dr. Swearingen, for sharing it with us.

***

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.

Video Courtesy of Dr. Oren Swearingen

© 2005 Jeff Challender