So What do you reckon it is? How small/big must an object be before it gets noticed by an astronaut?
http://www.spaceflightnow.com/shuttle/sts115/060919mysteryobject/
Mystery object sighting delays some landing preps BY WILLIAM HARWOOD
STORY WRITTEN FOR CBS NEWS "SPACE PLACE" & USED WITH PERMISSION
Posted: September 19, 2006
Flight controllers spotted an unusual object below the space shuttle Atlantis earlier today in video downlinked from the orbiter. Not sure what it might be, controllers asked the crew to delay stowing the ship's KU-band television antenna and teardown of the crew's laptop computer network to permit engineers to continue looking for the object whiile the astronauts sleep.
The object was spotted by a flight controller who was operating the shuttle's payload bay cameras around 2:45 a.m., a NASA spokeswoman said. Videotape replayed just before 10 a.m. showed what appeared to be a small object below the shuttle flying at roughly the same speed and in the same direction.
"INCO had seen an object in the video during Earth observations and we just want to keep the KU up and possibly downlink more video here in the near term," astronaut Terry Virts called from mission control in Houston. "We're looking at keeping it up overnight."
"Ok, that makes sense. Just let us know what you want to do," an Atlantis astronaut replied. "And you don't need OCA router for all that, right? We can go ahead and tear that down?"
"We'd actually like to keep the whole PGSC network up," Virts replied.
No other details were immediately available. Shuttle program manager Wayne Hale may discuss the matter, however, at a previously planned Mission Management Team briefing at 12 p.m.