http://www.space.com/spaceshuttle/ NASA Tracks Mystery Object Near Atlantis Shuttle 19 September 2006 10:55 a.m. EDT 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.” Harle 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.
I bet it's part of the wing.. and if so, that will push those flaky shuttles another step closer towards premature retirement. It should, anyway
It was a clear night last night here in Vegas...so I pulled out my telescope...and for an amateur astronomer, I was able to grab a pretty nice picture of the object...
It's probably one of those freakin' bolts they lost last week. One of the astronauts said " I turned around and it was just gone. It must have floated away"
Off the wires NASA postpones shuttle landing until Thursday CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla., Sept 19 (Reuters) - NASA on Tuesday postponed the landing of the space shuttle Atlantis by a day, partly because of poor weather forecast for the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. NASA also wanted extra time to review tapes showing an unidentified object flying out of the shuttle’s cargo bay. Atlantis and its six-member crew are now scheduled to land in Florida on Thursday at 6:22 a.m. EDT (1022 GMT), one day later than planned.
