The afternoon of 7 October 2002 was bright and clear at Kennedy Space Center, in Cape Canaveral Florida. At 2:46 PM CDT (19:46 GMT), the calm was broken by the thundering liftoff of Space Shuttle .Atlantis from Launch Pad 39B, thus beginning her 44 hour journey to rendezvous and docking with ISS. STS-112 (aka ISS Assembly Flight 9A) docked with ISSy at 10:17 AM (15:17 GMT) on 9 October. ISS Expedition Crew Five greeted the Crew of STS-112 after hatches were opened between the two spacecraft. They spent the next seven days carrying out joint operations.

The main Cargo of STS-112 was delivery and installation of the S-1 Truss segment. Some expanation of this truss segment, and its contents from NASA: "The large truss contains: a new external cooling system for the station that is slated to be activated in 2003; a second S-Band communications system to provide enhanced and extended voice and data capability; a cart that will serve as a mobile work platform for future spacewalkers; two new external television cameras; and the first Thermal Radiator Rotary Joint, which will provide the mechanical and electrical energy for rotating the station's heat-rejecting radiators based on various system requirements." Some other cargo items were transferred from Shuttle to Station as well.

Three EVAs (Extra-Vehicular Activity or spacewalk) were conducted from the Quest Joint Airlock Module by Astronauts David Wolf and Piers Sellers. The two men worked to fit and activate the S-1 Truss to the S-0 segment delivered the previous spring by STS-110. The results of the three spacewalks, totaling 19 hours 41 minutes, was completely successful.

After the full week of joint activities was over, the Expedition Five Crew wished their departing guests bon voyage. STS-112 undocked from the Station at 8:13 AM CDT (13:13 GMT) on 16 October. She spent the next two days flying on her own, affording the crew a bit of rest and time to pack up for the return home. Atlantis landed safely at the KSC Shuttle Landing Facility, on runway 33 at 10:44 AM CDT (15:44 GMT) 18 October 2002. Total flight duration: 10 days 19 hours 59 minutes.

This incident happened just prior to orbital sunset. The Shuttle/Station complex was orbiting over China and heading toward Japan. The Canadarm 2 was being used to position the brand new S-1 Truss assembly for its final installation. In the distance, we get a brief view of the darkening limb of Earth. Also in the distance, we can see a very bright "rectangular" , or cylinder-shaped object which moves almost in perfect concert with the motion of the truss on the end of the arm. At the very end of its time in view, the arm stopped moving the Truss assembly, and the object continued on its slightly curved independent course.

This object is not likely to be the Moon. From our short view of the limb of Earth at the beginning of the sequence, it is possible to extrapolate where that limb would be after it disappears into the night. The object passes IN FRONT of the Earth before vanishing behind the aft payload bay bulkhead. In additiion, the object describes an arced trajectory in its movement. For these reasons, I believe that the object is NOT astronomical. A similar object was seen during the docking of cargo vessel Progress-15 on 14 August 2004. The page on this site concerning that event is Progress-15 Docking To ISS.

Let's have a look at the visual presentation we have put together for you, shall we?

NASA's animated tracker showing the location of the Shuttle/Station complex at the time of the incident. The most densely populated part of China was directly below. Could they have seen the object passing by Endeavour from the ground? It's quite possible...

The yellow circle indicates the location of the camera which sent the video. The red arrows show the direction that camera was facing when the object was in sight.

Illustrating the anomalous object, and where the edge of planet Earth were at the time of this event.

As can be seen, the object doesn't resemble the Moon at all. Just compare it with the Real Moon as seen during the flight of STS-107.

At left, we have the "full view" of the event, just as originally broadcast "live" by NASA Select TV.

The motion of this segment is increased to 20 times normal speed. The original length of the event was over seven and a half minutes.

Now we are zoomed in 200%, and the object is just more mysterious. It certainly has a sharply defined outline, and squared corners. The distortion seen as the anomaly moves to the right may be due to the scan lines in the television signal. We are not sure of this, as it may also be some strange characteristic of the object itself.

© 2004 Heavens-Above

As can be seen on the chart, the Moon was near the extreme southern horizon, in the constellation Ophiuchus between Scorpius and Saggitarius. Venus was on the western horizon. Venus and the Moon certainly wouldn't have been seen in FRONT of the darkened Earth.

This object is NOT the Moon, or Venus. Other planets, and the stars can safely be ruled out. We can also be fairly sure it isn't ice or debris. It is shaped somewhat like a brightly lit barrel, and describes a curved path through space. For these reasons, I classify it as an unknown.

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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