NASA Tracks Mystery Object Near Atlantis Shuttle

Space,com ^ | September 19, 2006

[Kaslin]

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – NASA mission controllers are tracking a mystery object hovering between the space shuttle Atlantis and Earth, and traveling at roughly the same speed as the orbiter, agency officials said Tuesday.

“Right now they’re just tying to figure out exactly what it is, how far away it is,” NASA spokesperson Kimberly Harle told SPACE.com. “It’s pretty much assessing the whole situation.”

arle said that at 2:45 a.m. EDT (0645 GMT), just after Atlantis completed a check of its reaction control thrusters, the instrumentation and communications officer at NASA’s shuttle Mission Control room at Johnson Space Center noted an object between the orbiter and Earth, and traveling at about the same speed of the spacecraft.

Flight controllers are now using video cameras mounted along Atlantis’ robotic arm and payload bay to survey visible areas of the orbiter, including its wing leading edges and other vital heat shield areas, Harle said.

“Everything is still under assessment,” Harle said.

For now, Atlantis’ STS-115 shuttle crew will not stow their Ku-band antenna – the primary video and data link to Earth – to allow flight controllers to continue to study the object.

NASA is broadcasting Atlantis’ STS-115 mission to the ISS live via NASA TV. You are invited to follow the shuttle's progress using SPACE.com's NASA TV feed, which is available by clicking here or using the button at the left.

[Dead Corpse]

Things just haven't been the same since he left his TIE fighter parked in orbit, broken down and out of gas...

[RockinRight]

Is it a piece of duct tape?

[bluejean gal]

Now I love tribles!

[KarlInOhio]

It would have stayed in about the same orbit as the space station. The shuttle is now about 70 miles away from there.

[Wacka]

Enough of the joking now. Until we know what it is, this is serious.

[Cold Heat]

It is quite large, and can be seen from the ground as it catches the light.

[Cold Heat]

My sentiments exactly...

I do think that this is serious.

[mcshot]

Thanks for that comment. Nonsense has its place but not here.

[MadeInAmerica]

It's the 11th Imam. He is circling the wagons...er, the shuttles.

[Graymatter]

I wish everybody would put a hold on the humor until we know the crew is not in mortal peril.

[GraniteStateConservative]

Unavailable for comment...

[eyespysomething]

That's what I heard also.

Prayers for the crew.

[rawhide]

I just heard on the 12:00 radio news that the object actually hit the shuttle. This is why further inspection of the exterior is needed.

[TravisBickle]

[Cold Heat]

They are still in a very high orbit. They can remain in it for as much as three months or more, depending on food and other consumables. These things were implemented after the loss of the last shuttle as emergency measures.

The plan then would be to launch the next bird as a rescue and allow the wounded bird to burn up after setting a safe trajectory for re-entry.

I don't think the crew is in danger now, but the bird may not be coming back.

[Rb ver. 2.0]

Does anyone have the website address that lists when the space station will be passing overhead of various US cities?

[stlnative]

this is the best I could do - it is a tiny speck in the middle of large white dot. As you can see it about the size of the decimal point on the news ticker.

[green iguana]

From foxnews.com: "The object, which is circling the Earth in the same orbit as the shuttle and is of undetermined size, probably came out of the shuttle's cargo bay because some jets had just been fired, shaking the orbiter, NASA spokesman Doug Peterson said."

Could be bad info...

[patriot_wes]

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1704278/posts

[Kaslin]

If it is, I would think it would put the Astronauts in grave danger