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 page will be an educational one. Educational for us, and perhaps even some of the more cynical folks at NASA. During the delicate operation that resulted in the capture of Hubble using the robotic arm, there was a startling vision which appeared momentarily on the NASA Select TV downlink from Columbia!

Someone with an inexperienced eye MIGHT have jumped to the conclusion that we were seeing a gigantic, honest to goodness,classic FLYING SAUCER hovering above the Space Telescope and Columbia. This apparition looked straight out of Hollywood.

What was it really? Just a lens artifact. A ghostly reflection of Hubble itself, appearing off-center and above the actual space telescope.

Aside from the smug and condescending predictions about "flying saucer nuts" making a big deal out of it (posted to online bulletin boards by crude and self-righteous NASA bureaucrats) no one was fooled, and this picture was forgotten.

Those who ask serious questions about Unidentified Flying Objects are, in my opinion, NOT nuts. With the exception of debunkers, and those seeking to discredit the questioners (Such as the so-called "mainstream" media), NO ONE seeking answers to these questions has referred to U.F.O.s as "flying saucers" for decades. By the way, the term U.F.O. was coined by the military itself as a reference to these things back in the late 1940s. Hollywood and the cynics in media have somehow managed to equate it with "flying saucers & little green men". Today's US military calls them "Uncorrelated Targets"...they're still out there.

So, just for your enjoyment, and to show how strange reflections can be, here is the picture itself.

***

At all times during this incident, 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.)

© 2005 Jeff Challender