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.

At the conclusion of this highly successful mission, which achieved every goal set for it, Hubble was released back into orbit to continue its survey of the universe.

A discreet friend, who was working in Mission Control Houston, told me it had been his/her responsibility (In the week prior to release) to arrange 30 UNINTERRUPTED MINUTES of TDRS time for "live" TV coverage of the release of Hubble. Apparently, TDRS time had been difficult to arrange during this period, and a full half hour reserved for one purpose was not easy to set aside. He was understandably VERY upset when he learned that it had been cut off.

(This person was FORCED by superiors to cease contact with me in April 2002. Threats were made against this person, who gave in to save his/her job. Other SERIOUS threats were made as well. Our discussions ended, unfortunately, but I do understand.)

You, dear reader, might imagine what a surprise it was, for him and myself, when this 30 minutes was pared down to only two! Yes, that's correct, the 30 minutes of uninterrupted coverage of Hubble release amounted, at the end of the day, to a mere 120 seconds. You are probably asking yourself, as I did, WHY this should be?

Astronaut Nancy Currie, operator of Columbia's robotic arm, cast Hubble adrift in its orbit on 9 March, 2002 Almost immediately, an uninvited "guest" crashed the party!

An anomalous object came into the field of view from "the lower left". (such references are not really applicable in orbit, but serve to orient you with the TV screen as a convention of reference.) Despite apparent attempts to adjust the payload bay camera so that it was not visible to the public, it charged ahead. As the object brightened, and became impossible to ignore, the 30 uninterrupted minutes of coverage was ended very suddenly by the INCO. The public saw only a tiny portion of what had been promised, and you can bet your boots that the object was not seen in later replays.

So, let's begin our examination of the evidence for this object which seems to have upset NASA so, shall we?

This animation covers events from the entire truncated two minutes of TV coverage in mere seconds.

Because of the reduced size, and darkness of the frames, the anomaly doesn't show up well in this GIF.

The Space Telescope has no motors of its own. When redeployed, the Shuttle itself must back away, and very carefully in order to avoid damaging the delicate instrument with its rocket jet exhaust.

The Hubble was not bouncing up and down. As Shuttle Columbia gingerly backed away, the camera was repositioned several times. In at least ONE of these cases, it appeared that it was done to get the anomaly out of the field of view.

Please also bear in mind that the object appears from a direction in which there is no source for ice or debris. It comes from off to the lower left of our field of view. This precludes the object being something from Columbia herself.

The video in this animation, and the two to come, has been zoomed 250%. It also has been set to track the progress of the object, and partially compensate for the "bounce" effect when the camera was panned downward.

Those frames in which the object was "close" to HST have been slowed to aid in following the anomaly.

Since we cannot judge the distance of the object (there is no point of reference) we do not know how far away it is. It could be very far away, or quite near.

What we DO know is that NASA was so bothered by it's presence that they canceled 28 minutes of the full half-hour of scheduled live coverage for this event. Perhaps you can figure out what motivated this action.

Based on all the factors presented in this case, I must classify this object 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.)

An object very similar to the one in this case was seen during the capture of Hubble, STS-103, in December 1999. You may see, and compare, by going HERE.

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

© 2005 Jeff Challender