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.

During Columbia's first day on orbit, as the crew were showing off the effects of micro-gravity within the cabin, an object was seen scooting past outside one of the aft cabin windows...

The crew didn't appear to notice it, as they had their backs to the window in question at the time. But it was out there nonetheless, and picked up by the camera inside the cabin. It's rare to see these anomalies from inside the Shuttle cabin, and the only other event of this nature I've managed to find over the years were the Flight Deck Events of STS-100.

Below, for your perusal, are an array of animations composed of frames captured from the original VHS tape recorded live at the time from NASA Select TV.

This is a still frame from the broadcast, and is the "full view" as originally seen on TV.

The anomaly is within the yellow circle. The blue box marks the area of zoom we will examine next. The red arrow shows the path of the object.

Astronauts Nancy Currie and Michael Massimino are identified in the foreground for you.

This is the "full view" animation.

The object performs its "flyby" in the window behind all these smiling crewmates, and they appear to have missed it.

Here we have the normal color 250% zoom. The object is much easier to pick out now.

Notice we can even see the reflection of Massimino's back in the glass.

Lastly, we have the embossed version of the same 11 frame animated GIF. Now the anomaly really stands out in 3D against a neutral grey background.

What it IS cannot be determined. What we can be fairly sure of is that it's not the Moon, a star, or a planet. None of these would have been visible through the glass with so many interior lights shining.

Ice and debris would not be likely candidates for this object. Such would need to be extraordinarily BRIGHT and LARGE in order to be seen so clearly through that window, and to overcome the brightly lit cabin environment. For these reasons, I believe the object to be a true anomaly, and can only tell you what the object is NOT.

***

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