On 1 March 2002, Space Shuttle Columbia lifted off at 5:22 AM CST (11:22 GMT) from Launch Complex 39A, at Kennedy Space Center in Florida. This was to be Columbia's last successful flight. Due to safety concerns, STS-109 was also to be the final manned service mission (SM3B) to the Hubble Space Telescope (HST). (Following the loss of STS-107 on 1 February 2003, it was decided that Shuttles would only fly to ISS) The Crew accomplished capture of HST on 3 March at 3:31 AM CST (9:31 GMT).

No less than five EVAs (Extra-Vehicular Activity or spacewalk), in five consecutive days, were carried out to repair and upgrade the Hubble Space Telescope. That's as heavy a schedule of EVAs as you'll ever see. The EVAs were mounted by two teams of Astronauts: John Grunsfeld - Richard Linnehan and James Newman - Michael Massimino. Astronaut Nancy Currie operated the Canadarm in support.

A number of new Hubble components were on the STS-109 Cargo manifest, for installation on the HST. The major work done on Hubble included installation of the Advanced Camera for Surveys (ACS). This phone booth sized unit will, amongst other things, take part in the search for extra-solar planets. Hubble's two solar arrays were replaced, improving the telescope's ability to power itself. The Near Infrared Camera and Multi-Object Spectrometer (NICMOS) received a new cryocooler, capable of maintaining temperatures as low as -334°F (-203°C). A new Power Control Unit (PCU) was installed as an upgrade to the electrical system. Finally, a fourth Reaction Wheel Assembly (RWA) was added to the previous array of three, to increase the telescope's stability during long photographic exposures.

The Hubble Space Telescope was released back to orbit on 9 March at 4:04 AM CST (10:04 GMT). The mission had gone exactly as planned, and there were no glitches with the work on Hubble. Columbia flew solo for her last two days on orbit. A safe landing was accomplished on 12 March at 3:32 AM CST (9:32 GMT). STS-109 touched down at the Kennedy Space Center Shuttle Landing Facility on Runway 33. Total flight duration: 10 days 22 hours 11 minutes.

This event is different from the rest in the NASA section at Project P.R.O.V.E., in that it was found in a TV documentary about the flight of STS-109. This program was aired in late summer 2002 on the Science Channel. The footage was not in my own collection of recordings. It could be footage that was not broadcast on NASA Select TV at the time of the spacewalk, but downloaded at a later point. This is often done from Shuttles, and ISSy. Many times, NASA never airs such footage, especially when there are anomalies in it. The actual film clip used in the Science Channel documentary lasts only 8 seconds, so it is all we have to work with here.

The Astronauts in this incident are carrying out Hubble service work, on an unspecified EVA, at an unspecified time and date. We have only the visuals to go by here, there was no audio other than the narrated voice over. For all we really know, this COULD be stock footage from any Hubble service mission. It might be from STS-61, STS-82, STS-103, or the flight we are examining here, STS-109. In any case, the producers of the show state that these images come from STS-109, so taking their word on this, the event is presented here as such.

What happened was that as our two brave spacewalkers go about their tasks, there is something not associated with anything normal, flying past out in space. Why is this not to be considered ice or debris? That's what the debunkers would surely categorize it as. That's easy. It's coming from the wrong direction. If it were Shuttle based ice or debris, we could trace its course back to origin point.

Why is it not the Moon, a planet, or star? Again, these are easy to rule out. Astronomical objects WOULD exhibit "drift", as this object does, due to the 17,500mph (28,000 km/h) velocity of the Shuttle on orbit. BUT- Astronomical objects would be "rising" or "setting"...NOT skimming ACROSS a line parallel to the Earth. In addition, the Moon was in waning crescent phase that week, seen in the early morning hours. It would have been long ago set by the time frame for this event, which appears to be mid-day locally. We can surmise the local time by observation. In our scene, all available light is reflected from the Earth "above". The Sun itself seems to be absent. It's not, of course, but the body and wings of the Shuttle, in this case, are acting as a great parasol. The Sun is "below" this scene, under Columbia. For this reason, we can surmise a local time between about 11AM and 1 PM.

Stars and planets are simply not visible to the Shuttle cameras in daylight. The visages of these celestial objects are just too dim, and are overwhelmed by the Sun, and relfected light from the face of the Earth. The Moon can be seen when it is in the right place, but without telescopic magnification, it remains a very tiny dot.

Well, now that we have made clear what this object is NOT, why not take a look at it and see for ourselves, eh?

The anomaly is circled in yellow, and the red arrow notes its direction of travel.

The men, and major components are identified. Because we don't know which of the five STS-109 EVAs this is, we can't tell who these Astronauts are.

This star chart shows the sky at approximately dawn, in early March 2002. The Moon is in the western sky, and will set soon at orbital speed. It would have been long gone by the time our anomaly was seen.

The event above reminds me of another anomalous fly-past during a Hubble service EVA. That would be the STS-103 Spacewalk Event. Try a comparison, and see for yourself.

I can't tell you what this is out there in space, within sight of spacewalking Astronauts. I can only tell you what it's not. I must classify it as an unknown.

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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