The flight ofSTS-98/Atlantis had gone very well. On Friday 16 February 2001, Atlantis
undocked fromSpace
Station Alpha.
During the subsequent fly-around, an object was seen in the vicinity of
the Space Station which appeared to be three lights. The interesting
thing is that this object was seen twice, about 40 minutes apart.
Once in full night, and darkness, and once in daylight. In both
incidents, the object was exactly the same. Below are arranged two
still photos taken from live NASA broadcast, and unenhanced. What
this object might be, and what business it might have near Alpha, this
writer cannot say.
Note the "three light object" in the upper left hand corner of the picture. The date is 16 February 2001. The time is 8:20 AM (CST). This point in time is just about thirteen minutes after undocking from Station Alpha. The Shuttle and Station are in the darkness of night here. The only sources of light are the electric lamps on the two spacecraft.
This picture is from 37 minutes after the last one. It is now 50 minutes since undocking, and the Sun has risen for the Shuttle and Space Station. The very bright object at the bottom of the page is Station Alpha. The iris on the payload bay camera has beein opened wide, and this makes the station appear as a mere shapeless blob of light. The "three light object" can be seen above, and it has not changed from it's appearance in the last picture. Very odd looking thing indeed.