Upon firing up our trusty copies of Red Shift 2, we of course discovered that the gods were once again in symbolically appropriate positions. This kind of symbolism and ritual are imbedded deeply into the agency's every move. Even the Mission Patch for STS-96 is overwhelmingly symbolic. According to Temple, Isis the personage and the star were both represented by a variety of hieroglyphs, but among them were the cobra or serpent and the serpent's tooth. The tooth is a vertically elongated triangle, rather than the equilateral triangle we are used to seeing associated with Sirius, and the cobra is coiled as if to attack.
Earth is shown with it's pole vertical to the patch orientation.
The orbit is strangely elliptical, like a planetary or even stellar orbit, rather than circular like a satellite. This patch seems to posses just about every symbolic link you could want, including an odd connection to the work of Zechariah Sitchin. The significance of this particular set of circumstances, and why NASA would want to operate in accordance with them, will soon be made clear. Symbolically giving birth to new life while awaiting imminent disaster is a deep and recurring theme running through our planets mythos. NASA seems to be building on this same theme.