A strange dark object photographed during NASA's 1998 STS-88 mission became the centerpiece of one of the internet's most persistent space conspiracies: the Black Knight Satellite. Is it an ancient alien probe watching Earth from orbit, or a dramatic case of space debris transformed into modern mythology? This entry traces the legend through NASA imagery, Cold War tracking reports, pre-Sputnik satellite rumors, Nikola Tesla's strange signals, Long Delayed Echoes, and the human need to find meaning in the shadows above us.

Key Topics: STS-88 and the International Space Station assembly mission The famous Black Knight Satellite photographs NASA's space debris explanation The lost thermal blanket theory Donald Keyhoe and pre-Sputnik satellite claims Cold War orbital tracking reports Long Delayed Echoes Duncan Lunan's alien-probe interpretation and later retraction Nikola Tesla and strange signal lore Space debris as modern orbital horror Why the Black Knight legend refuses to die

Sources & Further Reading: NASA STS-88 mission materials and image archives Space.com reporting on the Black Knight Satellite legend Armagh Planetarium's discussion of the Black Knight myth Duncan Lunan's writings on Long Delayed Echoes and later clarification Historical summaries of the Black Knight Satellite conspiracy theory Space debris and low Earth orbit tracking resources

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