On the morning of 9 September 2006, at 10:15 AM CDT (15:15 GMT), Space Shuttle Atlantis boosted away from Launch Complex 39B, at Kennedy Space Center Florida. This marked the beginning of flight STS-115 (ISS Assembly Flight 12A). After roughly nine minutes of powered flight, the engines were cut off, and orbit attained.

Two days later, after a complicated chase and rendezvous, Atlantis docked to ISS on 11 September. Once a hard seal had been achieved with Pressurized Mating Adapter 3 mounted to the U.S. Destiny Laboratory Module, hatches were opened, and the two crews greeted each other. ISS Expedition 13 members Pavel Vinogradov (Commander), Jeff Williams (Flight Engineer), and Thomas Reiter (ESA Astronaut) were very happy to welcome the STS-115 Crew aboard.

In the ensuing days, three intense spacewalks were mounted from ISSy's Quest Joint Airlock for the purpose of installing the new P3/P4 Solar Arrays. This was the first station assembly mission since STS-113 in 2002. The spacewalkers on STS-115 included veteran Joe Tanner, first timer Heidemarie Stefanyshyn-Piper, Canadian Steve MacLean, and Dan Burbank. Each team "camped out" in the Quest airlock over night before their EVA. They were breathing pure oxygen to flush nitrogen from their bloodstreams before suiting up and going outside.

Following undocking from ISSy on 17 September 2006, Atlantis flew solo for the next four days. On this date, ISS Expedition 14 launched from Baykonur Cosmodrome aboard Soyuz TMA-9. The new crew consisted of Commander Michael Lopez-Alegria, and Flight Engineer/Soyuz Commander Mikhail Tyurin. The third member, Sunita Williams will swap places with Thomas Reiter at a later date. Along for the ride was the first woman space tourist, Anousheh Ansari.

Unexpected objects were sighted whilst Atlantis was flying alone. Engineers announced that these were all Shuttle based debris. Landing was delayed for an extra day to determine if the Shuttle's delicate heat shield had somehow sustained damage. None was found, and Atlantis landed safely at the KSC Shuttle Landing Facility on 21 September 2006, at 5:21 AM CDT (10:21 GMT). It had been a successful and productive mission.

On 11 September 2006, the Shuttle/Station Complex was flying through a region of planet Earth known as the South Atlantic Anomaly (SAA). The existence of this place is no secret, but what happens here to TV cameras seems to be one. When "live" downlink is broadcast by NASA Select TV from this area of the globe, be it day or night, the phenomenon is almost always seen. What causes this is not explained anywhere, and the INCO usually cuts the feed when he notices that it's going out to the public. What we will see here was from a color camera mounted on the exterior of ISSy. In the field of view is a communications antenna, and the payload bay of Atlantis.

Mr. Martyn Stubbs of Canada did a study on this sort of phenomena several years back. He dubbed it "The Second Phenomena". I've observed it numerous times myself over the years, and have several examples of it posted to this website.

This phenomenon consists of numerous flashes, streaks, and what look like mini-comets, seen in the "live" television downlink from space. It appears to be entirely natural; something generated by the magnetic field of Earth itself. What makes it strange is that in recent years, NASA seems to have taken steps to cover it up! Why is a mystery.

NASA have never openly acknowledged its existence. When challenged by Quest Publications during the production of their movie "The Smoking Gun", several scientists tried to pass it off as "cosmic rays affecting the CCD cameras aboard spacecraft". However, the manufacturer of said cameras has insisted that this is not possible. They claim that their equipment cannot be affected by cosmic rays in this manner. And that doesn't even address the fact that the phenomenon is most pronounced inside the SAA. The only thing we can be certain of is that the phenomenon exists, and there are examples of it in both day and night.

Quest Publications, and UFO Magazine UK, are now defunct. They disbanded in March 2004 following the untimely death of their chief editor Mr. Graham Birdsall at age 49, of Leeds, Yorkshire, England. The film "The Smoking Gun" is still available for purchase.

Next we will look at the map showing where the spacecraft were when this phenomenon manifested itself for us.

This animated GIF illustrates where Atlantis was during the incident.

The YELLOW circle notes the position of Atlantis when her payload bay camera was showing the strange phenomenon.

The crude RED outline denotes the South Atlantic Anomaly.

Here is the best single frame from the event. There is a GREEN "COMET" just left of the communications antenna seen at center screen.

The flashes and streaks can be very heavy at times. What causes this reaction in TV cameras is not known to this writer, and NASA isn't talking. The phenomenon is unexplained, and unacknowledged. WHY it is deliberately ignored and even covered up is quite intrigueing, especially in light of visual evidence that the source is natural rather than "paranormal".

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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.)

For more on this unusual phenomenon, see the following articles available here at Project P.R.O.V.E. The links are presented in chronological order.

STS-101 The Strange Phenomenon 5/00

Soyuz TMA-5 Anomalies In SAA 10/04

Soyuz TMA-4 & The Strange Phenomenon 10/04

ISS Exp. 11 - Strange Phenomenon, First Time In Daylight! 05/05

STS-114 The Strange Phenomenon Again! 08/05

The next list of pages helps to illustrate NASA's reluctance to allow live downlink within the SAA.

ISS EVA 10a - Antics Over Argentina 1/05

ISS EVA 10b - MORE Antics Over Argentina 3/05

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

© 2006 Jeff Challender