Wow! It would have to be pretty bright to reach -3.8, so time will tell
if that prediction is a little bit exaggerated or not. Certainly some
experienced observers have reported it as -2 magnitude even before the
new structure. That makes it as bright as Jupiter, but a long way from
Venus. Incidentally, the Genesis I team are making similar claims for
their space vehicle when it is finally built.

Have a look at the photo that Thierry Legault took from Normandy,
France, showing a silhouette of Atlantis and the ISS in front of the
sun, taken yesterday. It's on the front page of
http://www.spaceweather.com.

On the other end of the scale, I saw Suitsat earlier this year. This
was an old spacesuit deliberately jettisoned from the ISS late last
year as a ham radio experiment. Its magnitude was +8 and it has only
broken up in the last two weeks.

Cheers,

Bill
Canberra, Australia