The 10th Expedition Crew to ISS lifted off in their TMA-5 Soyuz Vehicle, atop the venerable Starsem booster, from Baykonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan on 13 October 2004 at 10:06 PM CDT (3:06 14 October GMT). This marked the beginning of 193 days on orbit for this Crew. The crew of TMA-5 consisted of Cosmonauts Salizan Sharipov (Soyuz Commander - Expedition 10 Flight Engineer), Yuri Shargin (Russian Space Forces), and Astronaut Leroy Chiao (Expedition 10 Commander and Science Officer). Shargin returned to Earth one week later with Expedition 9 Crew aboard the TMA-4 Soyuz.

TMA-5 Docked With ISS on 15 October at 11:16 PM CDT (4:16 16 October GMT). During their six and a half month stay aboard, the Crew mounted Two EVAs (Extra-Vehicular Activity or spacewalk) from the PIRS docking and airlock compartment wearing Russian Orlan Spacesuits. The EVAs took place on 26 January 2005, and 28 March 2005. Both were successful, and accomplished all their goals.

Twenty-two major scientific experiment programs (pdf file 2.49mb) were carried out during Expedition 10. These included studies in Bioastronautics, the Physical Sciences, Space Product Development, and Space Flight.

There were several nagging problems with the Elektron oxygen generating system, and the Vozdukh CO2 scrubbing equipment. These problems persisted until STS-114 / Discovery visited ISSy in July/August 2005, bringing up parts and supplies needed to finally stem the failures. Just a few days before Expedition 10 returned to Earth, another of the Control Moment Gyros, for keeping the station under control, failed. This too was repaired once and for all during the visit of STS-114.

The arrival of the Expedition 11 Crew on 16 April 2005, with Italian Astronaut Roberto Vittori, signalled the final days of Expedition 10. Sharipov, Chiao, and Vittori undocked their TMA-5 Soyuz from ISSy on 24 April 2005. They initiated their deorbit burn, and executed re-entry. They made a safe landing near Arkalyk in Kazakhstan later that same evening. Over all, Expedition 10 was a happy and successful mission.

On 28 March 2005, the ISS crew of Expedition 10 performed the second, and last, EVA (Extra-Vehicular Activity or spacewalk) of their increment aboard the station. Commander and Science Officer Leroy Chiao, and Flight Engineer - Soyuz Commander Salizhan Sharipov, donned Orlan spacesuits, and exited the hatch of the PIRS module.

This spacewalk (EVA-10b) included the manual launch of a "Nano-Satellite" for Russia, the installation of more hardware related to the European (ESA) ATV (Automated Transfer Vehicle), and other tasks. More on that part of the story HERE. Information on the Nano-Satellite HERE and HERE. There also seems to have been something of a near emergency, but it was thankfully avoided. The crewmen were dangerously close to one of the control thrusters on the Zvezda Service Module while it was active, on automatic mode. This activation was due to the failure of the internal gyroscopes to keep ISSy in place. Normally when men are working outside a spacecraft, thruster rockets are disabled for safety reasons. An example of one of these thrusters firing is available HERE.

In this examination, we'll have a look at that "snow" that seems to permeate almost all of NASA's "live" downlink television pictures at night. They probably want you to believe that there is nothing anyone can do about it, that it's just one of the characteristics of TV from outer space.

Nothing could be further from the truth!

When they WANT to have a clear picture, they do. The "snow" is NOT routine, nor is it "Just part of the facts of life for TV from space". This writer is of the opinion that the "snow" is added to the signal, AFTER it comes down from space, but BEFORE the signal reaches the public. I am of the opinion that its purpose is to obscure fine detail in night views. This sort of thing would go a long way toward keeping members of the public at large from noticing anomalous activity. These can be especially subtle as well, so the masking simply increases the likelyhood that they will be missed.

I'd also like to point out that this "snow" is NEVER present during live downlink TV from INSIDE the Shuttles or Space Station.

It's also missing from daytime downlink broadcasts. It's only in the views from outside...at night.

Something else to consider. TV from space is not special. In fact, it's about as common in the world as sunshine. Nearly ALL of the television programming you see in your home, from the nightly news to Saturday morning cartoons, comes from space! That's right, nearly all of it. And not just for those who use dish TV services, but also cable subscribers. Those who still use antennas are getting a significant portion of their programming from outer space, because all of these local TV broadcasters receive and rebroadcast programs from communication satellites. EVEN so-called "Third World" nations are using satellites for their television broadcasts these days.

These satellites form a Saturn like ring around the Earth's equator, and are in geosynchronous orbit, 22,500 miles (36,000 km) above our heads. That's roughly 10 TIMES the altitude of ISSy and the Shuttles on orbit, ONE WAY! The round trip distance for the signals is 45,000 miles! (72,000 km) That's about one fifth the distance to the Moon.

Have you routinely noticed this sort of "snow" (which permeates NASA broadcasts from night time downlink) in your favorite shows? ...neither have I.

NASA downlink TV is USUALLY sent up from manned spacecraft to a TDRS satellite. It is then relayed back down to White Sands New Mexico. At The White Sands Facility, there are two sides. One military, and the other NASA's. Sources tell me that the military reviews the signal first, and sends it over to the NASA side. From there it is sent to the Johnson Space Center , Building #8, in Houston Texas. It is only THEN that the signal is routed to the INCO/CATO desk in Mission Control. Here the officer in charge decides what is finally sent (VIA Satellite AGAIN!) out to the public on NASA Select TV. Heh Heh, there's a REASON they call it NASA SELECT TV!

The TDRS satellites reside in the same orbits, and at the same distances, as the commercial satellites. So why is it that commercial television, taking the same 45,000 mile ( 72,000 km ) route up to space, and back to Earth, never seems to have a mask of obscuring snow? Why is it that NASA TV, at night, almost always does? The signals are routed the same way, using nearly identical technology.

The "snow" mask in NASA TV at night looks less and less justified, doesn't it?

In this instance, it appears the CATO forgot to activate the "snow" for a few moments after the Sun went down behind the limb of Earth. For just a fleeting handful of seconds, we had that rare view at night with crystal clarity. Then, like turning on a light switch, the obscuring "snow" came on again in an instant.

How about we now explore this event with pictures and an animated GIF?

GOTCHA!

More On "Snow Games" Here

STS-104 Ridiculous "Snow" Games

STS-105 Snow Games

STS-110 Night Over California - NO SNOW!

ISS EVA 10a - Playing With The Night

ISS EVA 12a Snow Games Yet Again

ISS EVA 17 "Snow Games" Proven!

***

At all times during this incident, the camera was under the control of the CATO 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