"Space Shuttle destroyed" video - not Columbia

Contents

1. "Space shuttle destroyed"
2. Official account
3. "In space" video
4. Timeline
5. Not Columbia?
6. Conclusions
7. The Faking Hoaxer
8. PS
9. References

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Abstract: An analysis was carried out on a video by YouTuber The Faking Hoaxer showing a destroyed space shuttle floating in space above Earth. On the assumption that it was not a hoax, but an edit of actual footage from circa 2006 leaked by United States intelligence agencies and military sources, an initial assessment was carried out to determine if it was the Columbia space shuttle during its destructive re-entry event of 1 February 2003. This was shown not to be the case. A subsequent deep analysis of the video indicated that the space shuttle seen was likely named Endeavour, though it was a second version of that well-known craft. Also, it was possible that prior to circa 2006 it had been attacked and destroyed by an unknown Earth-based or Alien assailant using scalar or microwave weapons, or other unidentified laser weaponry. The purpose of the destruction is a mystery. It may have been a test by the United States as to shuttle structural integrity and crew survivability following on the Columbia disaster of 2003, or an enemy attack. The incident has never been reported upon or made public. Whether the video is real, an in a "faking hoax" or an actual hoax, remains unclear.

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1. "Space shuttle destroyed"

On 26 September 2024 American YouTuber Ashton Forbes presented a video from 29 March 2009 which purports to show aspects of the Space Shuttle Columbia disaster, as it floated in space above the Earth following what appears to be a catastrophic, internal explosion or encounter with another space object or Alien UFO.

CGI Space Shuttle destroyed - 2009 Part 1, Hale Kaden, 20 March 2009, YouTube, duration: 3.39 minutes.

The Columbia disaster initially occurred at about 230,000 ft. above Earth around 9 a.m. local time, Cape Canaveral, on Saturday, 1 February 2003. This was just prior to final destruction as it broke up and fell to earth upon entering the lower atmosphere. Video footage of this featured in media reports worldwide, following live presentation in the United States by CNN. The present writer, coming from Australia, was totally unfamiliar with the details of the Columbia disaster. 

The above video was posted on the Hale Kaden YouTube channel on 20 March 2009. This channel also features a collection of NASA space shuttle videos revealing encounters with UFOs. In his commentary, Forbes noted that the video was supposedly a fake, produced in CGI by TheFakingHoaxer (TFH) and uploaded to Hale Kaden. However, Forbes suggests that, due to the quality of the video, it is more likely to be real, and that the introduction of a hoaxer is a tool often used by military, security and government authorities to mask actual content which is theoretically restricted, but which nevertheless is deemed useful to release. Forbes' is just one analysis of the video. Various theories surrounding it, and mentioned in YouTube comments, include the following:

• This is real footage of the space shuttle Columbia connecting with it entering the atmosphere and breaking up on 1 February 2003. [Wrong]
  
• This is fake CGI footage from 2009 relating to the Columbia disaster, done in Photoshop and After Effects. {Wrong]
  
• This is real footage of another shuttle, going by the name Endeavour. [Possible]
  
• This is real footage of a shuttle after being attacked by an unknown force. [Possible]
  

The following article discusses the video and its implications. It initially seeks to connect it with Columbia. It then goes on to discuss alternative theories around what is seen in the video. The research process began on 26 September 2024, and the views of the writer evolved as more information was revealed. For example, it was discovered that the video was supposedly an edit by TFH of a previous, more expansive, YouTube posting from 2006. Whilst initially the view was that the video was of Columbia just prior to entering the atmosphere, an alternative explanation gradually emerged when it was realised that this craft was likely destroyed whilst in space, and not during re-entry. Issues surrounding the video's real vs. fake status are also discussed in more detail below. Finally, it should be remembered that the video was described in the initial Hale Kaden posting simply as CGI Space Shuttle destroyed, with no reference to any specific shuttle. As there are only two publically revealed, historical space shuttle destructive events - Challenger in 1986, which occurred during lift off, and Columbia during 2003, which occurred during re-entry - it was only natural to connect the video with the latter, as most of the YouTube commentators did. With this in mind, the following discussion initially attempts to more precisely associate the video with Columbia.

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2. The official account

The official scenario for the Columbia disaster, as propagated by NASA and the media, is that the space shuttle broke up upon re-entry due to foam from the booster rocket during lift-off on 16 January 2003 striking one of the protective carbon on carbon tiles on the leading edge of the left wing of the craft. This then allowed hot plasma generated during re-entry to enter the wing and destroy its structural integrity, leading to the utlimate destruction of the shuttle. This scenario is basically true, but it is only part of the story, as most people believe that the crew perished at the point of burn up as seen from the ground, between approximately 09:10:00 a.m. and 09:35:00 EST on 1 February 2003. The truth is, they died around 08:59:00, prior to the ground-visible burn up over Texas. This is outlined in some detail within NASA's December 2009 report Columbia Crew Survival Investigation. The findings of that report were that the crew lost their lives and saw their final fate as a result of the following:

1. Depressurization of the crew module at, or shortly after, orbiter breakup. [This resulted in almost immediate unconsciousness and possible death]
2. Exposure of unconscious or deceased crew members to a dynamic rotating load environment with a lack of upper body restraint and nonconformal helmets. [The craft began rotating due to loss of control]
3. Separation of the crew from the crew module and the seat with associated forces, material interactions, and thermal consequences. [The shuttle broke up and ejected the crew from the craft]
4. Exposure to near vacuum, aerodynamic accelerations, and cold temperatures. [The crew were thrown into space]
5. Ground impact. [The crew remains were located at various sites in the United States along the debris trail, and on the ocean floor, up to 18 miles off the coast of Cape Canaveral]

What the TFH video supposedly supports is that during the middle stage of the re-entry, when the shuttle was travelling at more than Mach 24 (19,000 mph) at an altitude of about 230,000 feet, and encountering temperatures greater than 2,000 degrees centigrade, the damaged tile/s gave way and resulted in the left wing shearing off, other parts of the body separating, and eventual breaking off of the front section of the craft containing the flight deck and crew. We can apparently see the results of such a destructive event in the video, and also in the television footage from that day. However there are significant differences, and the TFH video does not show the actual destruction of the shuttle in question.

Columbia breaking up over Texas.

The seven crew members would have suffered almost instantaneous death due to depressurization, followed by heat and blunt force trauma from the speed at which the craft was travelling. Their body parts were discovered amongst the extensive trail of debris which crossed the United States from west in California to east off the Florida coast. The so-called hoax video clearly does not apply to the Columbia disaster.

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3. The "in space" video

The Hale Kaden / TheFakingHoaxer video of a destroyed space shuttle floating in space above the Earth runs for 3 minutes and 39 seconds, with approximately 39 seconds of credits at the beginning and end. It appears to have been taken from a relatively close position, most likely by an American spy satellite in orbit. If it is real, and of a space shuttle, then it was most likely brought in after the catastrophic destruction took place. The spy satellite is seen at the beginning of the video, from footage apparently taken three days earlier. Some garbled contemporary voice commentary is associated with the video at that early point, just before the post-incident destruction images are seen.

It is obvious that what we are presented with in this video is "edited highlights" of available footage, as indicated by the cuts. The total uncut video could have lasted much longer.

One of the aims of this article was to determine at what point in time the in space video sat with regard to the precise information available on the destruction of Columbia. Though the footage of the stricken craft runs for 3 minutes, it may have been slowed down, as the detailed timeline presented below reveals that, according to published NASA data, the events seen in the video took place between approximately 09:00:18 a.m. EST, when Columbia began to break up, and 09:00:53 a.m., when the front cabin section began to disintegrate. This approximate 30 second period appears to cover the content of the 3 minute video, which in turn had been edited down to perhaps a third of the original available footage. At that point in time Columbia was flying low (c.60,000 ft.) over Texas and burning up due to the extreme heat. This scenario, however, puts it at odds with the video which - setting aside the slowed-down presumption - presents us with footage of a destroyed shuttle floating slowly in space, and not of one travelling at Mach 2 and burning up in the atmosphere.

The various sections of the in space video include the following elements, with time signatures in minutes and seconds:

1. 0.00 - 0.12: Opening credits.
2. 0.13 - 0.18: Orbiting spy satellite
3. 0.19 - 0.32: 3 Days Later credit
4. 0.33 - 1.04: Rear shuttle tail piece floating above earth and surrounded by debris. Zoom in and zoom out.
5. 1.05 - : 1.40: View from above of the front section of the shuttle, including the cockpit, with zoom in and zoom out, perhaps scanning for life signs and the crew. This front section has catastrophically separated from the body of the shuttle, at a point just behind where the crew would have been seated and just rear of the two top windows.
6. 1.41 - 2.04: A wide view of the body of the shuttle from the left side, showing the storage bay and rear rocket section. Zoom in and out is also seen where the left wing had sheared off.
7. 2.05 - 2.40: A close up of the nose of the shuttle, from just below the left hand front side. A lot of damage is seen on the exterior of the craft, with debris floating around it.
8. 2.41 - 3.04: A separated wing is seen floating away from the other debris, with zoom in and zoom out. This suggests its separation took place with some force.
9. 3.05 - 3.39: End credits.

At various points the video zooms in and out, indicating it was under live control and not stationary, but had been manoeuvred into a geosynchronous orbit with the shuttle. It is unlikely that NASA had control of this military spy satellite at the time of the event, though would obviously have been in contact with the controllers. The video shows a destroyed shuttle floating in space above Earth and broken into four large sections: (1) front body, (2) main body, (3) wing and (4) tail, plus literally hundreds of pieces as gravitational and other forces came into play. There were no visible signs of life, though one YouTube commentor mentioned seeing blood stains on the cabin windscreen. If any obvious life signs had existed, it is likely they would have been censored by NASA prior to any release of the video.

Large sections of the craft showed damage, both external and internal. This is possibly the result of the breakup and re-entry forces, extending throughout the craft, from nose to tail. Within the video there is no obvious signs of the high temperatures involved in the lower earth atmosphere stages of re-entry, such as burning up. With the shuttle travelling at high speed during late stage re-entry, the 3 minute edited footage may represent only a few seconds of actual real time satellite video. It is also possible that the external and internal damage was the result of some sort of attack. Such a scenario is discussed below. This video, if it is of Columbia, plus retrieved internal video footage taken by a crew member leading up to four minutes prior to the catastrophe, adds emotional weight to the tragic death of the seven astronauts.

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4. Timeline

In regard to the timing of the Columbia disaster events described below, local Cape Canaveral time is United States Eastern Standard Time (EST), whilst in official NASA reports and animations, time is given as Greenwich Mean Time (GMT). The present article prioritises EST, or local time, as follows:

• The actual event dealt with herein commences at approximately 08.41:35 a.m. local time (EST) / 13:41:35 GMT, when a member of the crew starts video in the cockpit just prior to Columbia commencing re-entry.
• It event ends some 53 minutes later at 09:35:00 a.m. local time (EST), when the final debris is deposited in the ocean off the coast of Cape Canaveral, Florida.
• The earliest ground-recorded video in which debris from the shuttle (likely pieces from the left wing) can be seen burning up commences over California at around 08:53:15 a.m. EST.
• The initial catastrophic disintegration of the shuttle occupies a period of 35 seconds, between 09:00:18 a.m. EST and 09:00:53 a.m. EST.
• The period in which debris subsequently enters the earth's atmosphere and scatters on land and at sea, covers a period of approximately 35 minutes, from 09:00:18 a.m. EST to 09:35:00 a.m. EST.

The following timeline is based on that presented in the dwaster YouTube video posted on 26 December 2012 (see below). It shows the final moments of the available on board video, overlain with audio from the cockpit. The timeline also includes information presented in the Columbia Crew Survival Investigation Report. The timeline is summarised below.

Authentic NASA Transcript Subtitles - 10 Minutes Before Columbia's Full Re-Entry Breakup STS-107, dwaster, YouTube, 26 December 2012, duration: 6.38 minutes.

Date: 1 February 2003.

Position and speed: During this period the shuttle is initially moving at greater than Mach 24 (18,771 mph) and at an altitude of between 400,000 ft. and 65,000 ft. as it engages in re-entry and enters the Earth's atmosphere. The shuttle starts to emit heat-generated light as it enters the atmosphere below 230,000 ft. At the time of final breakup the shuttle was travelling about 12,500 mph.

08:41:35 a.m. (EST) / 13:41:35 GMT: Surviving on board video recording starts and extends for approximately 7 minutes. Corresponding cockpit audio is available throughout and extends.

08:44:09 / 13:44:09: Re-entry process begins, descending from 400,000 ft and travelling in excess of Mach 24.

08:48:14. On board video recording ends. This video is recovered from the wreckage but the final moments were apparently damaged and so it ends premature, rather than extending to the usual point of landing.

08:48:39: The first indication that something is wrong occurs, 25 seconds after the video ends, when one of the Strain gauge sensors on the left wing fails, close to where a piece of foam had hit the space shuttle during launch.

08:48:59 a.m.: The first sign of unusual heating occurs when a temperature sensor near one of the left wing panels that was hit by foam shows an abnormal increase.

08:48:59 to 08:52:29: A number of the sensors on the left side of the shuttle show unusual readings.

08:52:29: First signs of trouble begin to appear on the right side of the shuttle when approximately 10 percent of the strain gauges in the right wing show a small but unusual data trend. After this point, heating abnormalities become more and more of a problem causing some holes in the left wing to allow hot gasses to enter the internals of the wing and create imbalances in the flow over the wing. The shuttle is on auto-pilot and begins making small rocket adjustments to compensate for the abnormal flows which are causing it to veer off its planned course.

08:53:15: Ground based video starts.

08:53:26: Shuttle crosses from ocean to California.

08:53:45: First report of debris observed leaving the orbiter. For the next 5 minutes, multiple failures occur due to the excessive heat. Debris is seen leaving the orbiter from observers in California, Nevada, Utah, Arizona, New Mexico, Mexico and Texas.

08:53:50: Crosses Nevada border.

00:54:46: Debris 6 shedding observed.

08:55:50: Crosses Utah border.

08:56:00: Crosses New Mexico border.

08:58:04: Very large adjustments are calculated by the auto-pilot to correct major flight instability due to warping of left wing.

08:58:20: Shuttle crosses Mexico border into Texas.

08:58:39: First fault message.

08:58:48: Shuttle Commander Rick Husband transmits a radio communication: "And, uh, Hou(ston)..."

08:59:06: Left landing gear down error message.

08:59:32: Rick Husband transmits his last radio communication: "Roger, uh buh (Cutoff)." This is the initial loss of signal (LOS) at which point no data is able to be streamed to mission control. Master Alarm goes off.

08:59:37 to 09:00:18: Loss of control (LOC) of the shuttle due to hydraulics damaged in the left wing.

09:00:18: Catastrophic event (CE) begins. The CE is defined as the initiation of the orbiter breakup into the primary subcomponents of the forebody (cabin), midbody, and aftbody. This takes place around 230,000 ft. as the craft enters that section of the atmosphere at which it will start to heat up, emit light and also burn up due to the high temperatures of over 2,000 degrees centigrade.

09:00:18 to 09:00:53: During this period, the CE evolves into Crew Module Catastrophic Event (CMCE) which is defined as the initiation of the forebody (cabin) breakup.

09:00:53 to 09:01:10: Major Breakup occurs (Total Dispersal TD) which is defined as the time when the crew module was substantively broken down into subcomponents and was no longer visible on ground-based videos. A final data burst is transmitted from the shuttle but reports mostly errors and garbled data, whilst only a few of the measurements could be analysed.

09:01:10 to 09:35:00: This period covers the initial total dispersal of Columbia through to the ground impact of the crew remains and the majority of the crew module debris.

[End of timeline]

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* Full Columbia disaster timeline, Terry Mayes, 20 May 2022, YouTube, duration: 3.24 minutes.

* Reconstructing the Columbia Space Shuttle disaster, Scott Manley, 2 February 2023, YouTube, duration: 18.07 minutes.

CAIB: Supplemental Orbiter Videos Knowledge @ NASA, 13 April 2017, YouTube, duration: 12.59 minutes.

It should be noted that a number of comments on YouTube suggest that TheFakingHoaxer edit is not original, and that the video had appeared three years previously (2006), without any of the edits, titles, or music, and was much longer. Also, that Columbia was subject to a UFO attack, the results of which were supposedly shown in the video, and it subsequently crashed to earth. If the video were a hoax, it was a very good one at that.

The Columbia crew, January 2003.

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5. Not Challenger?

The above research raises the likelihood that the "in space" video is not of the Columbia disaster. If not, then what is it? Is it a mere hoax? What evidence would support such statements? Perhaps the following:

1. The unofficial nature of the video. There is no first hand evidence of an official origin, and no statements in support of that contention.
2. It is presented by TheFakingHoaxer (TFH) as a CGI experiment.
3. Numerous comments amongst the 263 on YouTube as of 26 September 2024, and dating back to 2009, suggest the following:


• There is evidence that this is the Endeavour shuttle.
• The debris would not be floating! Columbia blew up in the atmosphere.
• Very good Job. But, IMHO, the floating debris should wildly and randomly gyrate.
• Brilliant and spooky, well done, but clearly CGI, all the wreckage floating lifeless with not one bit rotating gives it away instantly and don't assume it's Columbia because the name on the wing clearly shows "VOUR" and we all know ENDEAVOUR is all tucked up in a museum.
• This happened and a standby shuttle was launched secretly to re-enter the atmosphere to show the public that nothing happened up there.

However, many of the comments also support the video as real, though not always necessarily of the Columbia, such as the following:

• This is incredibly real even for an amateur. there is even blood splatter on the windows. Don't show this to NASA.
• If you hadn't put CGI in the title, I could have easily thought this was real. It really sends chills down my back, reminded me how dangerous spaceflight really is, and how brave astronauts really are as well.
• I don't care how good your Photoshop and CGI skills are, no-one can reproduce the filaments of that craft disintegrating in such a random but precise way. This is REAL footage of STS 107 damage after being attacked by as yet unidentified objects (2). This STS 107 Shuttle was damaged before re-entry into the earth's atmosphere.
• PROVE IT....SHOW ME YOUR FILES...WIRE FRAMES ETC....At the time this was released... I couldn't see how some average / CGI artist could have done this.. I saw this video years ago and at the time if was never mentioned as CGI....the debris...the Camera...the carnage....hmmmm....
• I agree. This was leaked years prior to anyone claiming it. No CGI at that time or even in the last 5 years looks that real. You won't find one Hollywood film even close to this detail.

NASA operates with a great deal of secrecy, as does much of the American military establishment. This reveals itself in an ever-present refusal to expose the whole truth around tragic events involved with its space program. It keeps the public in the dark when that should not be the case. The public should be made aware of the dangers of going into space. These dangers can be accepted, and dealt with. There is no doubt that tragedies such as Apollo 1, Challenger and Columbia can have negative impacts upon funding of the organisation. However, there is no point in hiding the truth, as it eventually comes out.

Revelation of the video of the supposed Columbia incident would not necessarily have had any impact upon the issues facing NASA in regards to its shuttle program and the need to develop a vehicle which can safely take people into space and return them, even if the craft involved is subject to problems such as seen with Columbia. Apparently NASA knew about the damaged tiles, and chose not to tell the crew that it could result in their deaths.

When we realise that the United States has craft available within its secret black ops military program which can rescue crew at a moments notice (viz. TR-3B), there is no excuse for tragedies such as Columbia. Also, the fact that the US has complete coverage of the planet with its spy satellite network, is not something that needs to be hidden. The footage reveals the usefulness of that technology, and also the fact that NASA and the military often know what is going on both on Earth and in space whilst refusing to acknowledge that. We see this with the MH370 disappearance issue and the tragic loss of 264 lives there. Democracy must be based on openness and accountability. So-called national security issues cannot override the value of a single life.

Once again, assuming it is not a CGI construction, and is real, what are we looking at? The shuttle on screen looks like it has been subject to an attack of some sort. With the view in mind that it is not the Columbia, the footage reveals the following [NB: There is degradation of the video footage due to screen capture and composite reconstruction by the present writer]:

1. 0.00 - 0.12: Opening credits.
2. 0.13 - 0.18: Orbiting spy satellite. It has a tree structure, with solar panels on top and bottom, and what looks like a camera in the middle section. This picture was possibly taken from the shuttle, or another spy satellite.
   
   
   
   
   
3. 0.19 - 0.32: 3 Days Later credit
4. 0.33 - 1.04: Rear shuttle tail piece floating above earth and surrounded by debris. External damage includes round black burn marks on centre, possibly putting a hole through the structure, pieces missing from the black lined leading edge, a large section of the rear tail missing, and substantial damage where the tail piece has separated from the shuttle rear engine section.
   
   
   
   
   
5. 1.05 - 1.40: View from above of the front section of the shuttle, including the cockpit. This front section has catastrophically separated from the body of the shuttle, just as it did with the Columbia break up, at a point just behind where the crew would have been seated and just rear of the two top windows. There is substantial damage on the front nose cone, in the top front surface in front of the windows, and on the right side.
   
   
   
   
   
6. 1.41 - 2.04: A wide view of the body of the shuttle from the left side, showing the storage bay and rear rocket engines section. The left wing, rear tail piece, and front crew cockpit sections have sheared off. Two large black burn marks can be seen on the side of the craft and upper rear pod. There is also substantial damage on the top and bottom of the craft and the rear rocket pod section.
   
   
   
   
   
7. 2.05 - 2.40: A close up of the nose of the shuttle, from just below the left hand front side. A lot of damage is seen on the exterior of the craft, with debris floating around it. The right hand side damage of the front nose cone cannot be seen.
   
   
   
   
   
8. 2.41 - 3.04: A separated right wing is seen floating away from the other debris. This suggests its separation took place with some force. The following letters can be seen on the wing: ..eavour. This refers to Endeavour, as seen in the following photograph from mission STS-134 of May 2011:
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
9. 3.05 - 3.39: End credits.

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6. Conclusions

It is clear from the analysis of the in space video content, that the shuttle seen is not Columbia, and neither is it whilst the craft is burn up on entering the Earth's atmosphere. Instead, what is seen is a space shuttle - likely a second copy of the Endeavour craft - that has been attacked in some manner and destroyed. Attacked by what? The most likely scenario is that the US utilised some of its orbiting space weaponry, including scale and microwave beam weapons, to attacked the craft as a test bed to see what damage could be done and analyse crew survival elements. If the attack was by a foreign nation, it could only have been Russia or China, and both scenarios are highly unlikely. One YouTube commentor suggested it was attacked by a UFO. However, there is no evidence either way as to who or what was the attacker. All we can surmise is that it was a significant, sustained attack which successfully tore the craft apart and left it floating in space.

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7. The Faking Hoaxer

In the English language, a double negative may be used to convey a positive or opposite. For example, "I did not do nothing" means that "I did something"; or "I am a faking hoaxer" means "I am telling the truth." Therefore, it can be implied that the person who is responsible for the TFH videos is actually presenting genuine material, whilst masking it as hoax, which process is in itself a hoax. This is useful to know in regard to the video under discussion as it is much easier to believe that it is a fake, then to accept the reality of a space shuttle being attacked and destroyed in the manner depicted. As one YouTube commentator noted, when the video was made in 2009, supposedly from footage initially release around 2006 or earlier, the computer programs Photoshop and After Effects were not capable of producing such life-like, realistic videos. The writer has been informed by a second person that such skills were available at the time. Also, when TFH noted that his previous posting had millions of views but that he was forced to delete it, this ties in with the earlier comment by Ashton Forbes that leakers of top secret and censored material exist within the security forces and the military industrial complex, and if they are found out they can suffer take down notices or even imprisonment, as happened with the leaker of the two MH370 videos. Just as those videos from a spy satellite and military drone were released revealing aspects of the disappearance of flight MH370 in March 2014, so also we may have here evidence of an unreported attack on a space shuttle. Another example is the ultra-realistic TFH video of a UFO circling around the Apollo 11 Lunar Module as it seeks to dock with the Command Vehicle after returning from the moon in July 1969.

Apollo Classified film footage, by TFH CGI 2D, The Faking Hoaxer, 6 March 2019, YouTube, duration: 2.45 minutes.

All of this footage is labelled fake and a hoax by skeptics and debunkers. At the end of the day it can be incredibly frustrating to investigate stories such as this which have no clear resolution. If the video presents a real event, it should have been officially released, and without edits. Undoubtedly, as with most US military spy satellite video material, it was automatically classified top secret, and remains so to the present day. As such, it is not referred to in any known official reports, and any military personnel who happened to leak the material would be subject to disciplinary action if found out. Of course, there is no reason for such a video to be so classified and restricted. Hopefully The Faking Hoaxer is not telling lies and the story of the destroyed Endeavour space shuttle will eventually see the light of day. Until then, we can neither confirm nor deny that it's destruction ever took place.

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8. PS

On 5 October 2024 the writer posted a comment to a video on The Faking Hoaxer YouTube site (see video below) which suggested that the owner / creator was in fact a truth teller, and asked if the "Space Shuttle destroyed" video was real or not. The comment was immediately deleted by the site owner. The video discussed the ethics of faking / hoaxing. It is included below, along with a transcript and brief discussion on its content. It should be noted that images of the destroyed space shuttle are included.

A Warning - by TFH, The Faking Hoaxer, 31 August 2024, YouTube, duration: 2.28 minutes.

Text: This is a warning from The Faking Hoaxer about what is inevitably going to happen due to the rapid and soon uncontrollable evolution of AI and digital technologies. Creating a hoax video that is convincing enough to go viral required a blend of creativity, technical skill, and an understanding of human psychology. But now that has changed. The most effective hoax videos often contain elements that are just plausible enough to be believed, while also tapping into emotions or controversial topics that compel viewers to share the content. They leverage the fine line between reality and fiction, making use of high quality editing and effects to blur the boundaries. However, it's important to note that creating and spreading hoax videos can be ethically questionable and potentially harmful, as they can contribute to misinformation and distrust. It's always best to strive for honesty and transparency in content creation and sharing, like The Faking Hoaxer and others do. Throughout the years there have been numerous hoax videos that have captured the public's attention. Some of the most notable include the golden eagle snatch kid video which showed an eagle allegedly trying to carry away a toddler and was later revealed to be a 3D animation project. Another infamous example is the inter Mars orbit video created by The Faking Hoaxer. Viewers were convinced that it was real footage from in the 1970s and even stating that The Faking Hoaxer was lying about the fact that he created it. These videos often go viral due to their shocking or unbelievable content, only for viewers to discover later that they were carefully crafted illusions. While these hoaxes can be entertaining, they also highlight the importance of critical thinking and media literacy in this digital age. In a time where information and video footage can be rapidly spread and accessed, the responsibility to disseminate truthful information is more important than ever, as it helps combat misinformation and ensures that the truth remains. But in reality there will soon be reality mess and you won't even notice it.

[Underneath video images] Created over 15 years ago by one person at home with available software on a simple computer.

It appears that The Faking Hoaxer is using word salad to confuse the reader and hide the truth. At various points there is criticism of hoaxing, whilst at others there is praise; at one point TFH says truth and honesty in presentation is important, whilst at another there is obfuscation and masking of the reality of what he/she/they is/are doing. The deletion of the calling-out comment from the present writer seems to support the supposition that much of the information and imagery on the site is real, whilst others is clearly not. Of course, if TFH is releasing top secret material, then anonymity needs to be maintained for personal safety. Unfortunately, unless the truth is revealed, the use of the video postings is limited to entertainment, rather than factual information.

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9. References

Associated Press, NASA gives graphic details of Columbia deaths, Associated Press, 31 December 2008, YouTube, duration: 0.54 minutes.

Authentic NASA Transcript Subtitles - 10 Minutes Before Columbia's Full Re-Entry Breakup STS-107, dwaster, YouTube, 26 December 2012, duration: 6.38 minutes.

Forbes, Ashton, Secret Science Wednesday - Ep9 Conscious Plasma, Ashton Forbes, YouTube, duration: 128.51 minutes.

Manley, Scott, Reconstructing the Columbia Space Shuttle disaster, Scott Manley, YouTube, duration: 18.07 minutes.

Mayes, Terry, Full Columbia disaster timeline, Terry Mayes, 20 May 2022, You

NASA, CAIB: Supplemental Orbiter Videos Knowledge @ NASA, 13 April 2017, YouTube, duration: 12.59 minutes.

-----, Columbia Crew Survival Investigation Report, NASA, December 2008, 400p.

The Faking Hoaxer, CGI Space Shuttle destroyed - 2009 Part 1 Hale Kaden, 20 March 2009, YouTube, duration: 3.39 minutes.

-----, Apollo Classified film footage, by TFH CGI 2D, The Faking Hoaxer, 6 March 2019, YouTube, duration: 2.45 minutes.

U.S. Navy Salvage Report: Space Shuttle Columbia, Report #S0300-B5-RPT-010 0910-LPT-102-2949, ROH Incorporated for Naval Sea Systems Command, September 2003, 276p.

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Last updated: 9 October 2024

Michael Organ, Australia