344 lines
17 KiB
Plaintext
344 lines
17 KiB
Plaintext
SUBJECT: STRANGE OBJECTS SEEN ON SHUTTLE FLIGHT FILE: UFO1595
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PART 2
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The Strange Case of STS-48
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by David Mayo
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It was 1:43am Saturday morning, June 6, 1992. My wife had
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retired for the evening and I was flipping through the cable
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channels as men are compelled to do. Just by chance (or
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providence), I landed on KHTV (Ch 39 locally) where the
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program "HardCopy" was airing. The host was stating
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"...amazing videotape taken by a space shuttle astronaut,
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astounding evidence of UFOs!" Well, For over a year and a
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half I have been compiling UFO-related television segments
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from various programs. I jumped up and shoved my latest
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tape in the VCR and hit record. What followed was
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intriguing to say the least. Don Ecker, staffer to UFO
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Magazine, had obtained footage filmed from a recent shuttle
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mission and had brought it to "HardCopy." The footage
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showed a dark Earth positioned in the lower two-thirds of
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the screen. Banded around its middle, the lights of a major
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city sparkled. The Earth's curvature ran from right mid-
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frame to upper left corner. Above this, dark space was
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punctuated by a few stars. A small bright object suddenly
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appeared midway down the visible edge and traveled right to
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left at a fast rate following the curvature. There was a
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brief flash of light that bloomed from the upper left corner
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and the object made a sudden sharp right hand turn, picked
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up velocity and sped off into the darkness of space! A
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split second after this unusual turn, another object
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streaked upwards from lower in the frame and whizzed past
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the approximate point where the first object would have been
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had it not made the right hand turn.Don Ecker expounded that
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this was an alien spacecraft making an evasive maneuver just
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before something is shot at it.
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Mr. Ecker's opinion not withstanding, NASA's official
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explanation was that it was ice crystals formed from waste
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water. "HardCopy's" stance was that this piece of film was
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either the UFO smoking gun or space debris. I found the
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entire footage to be something unique and possibly
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important. Still, this was "HardCopy" after all, not "60
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Minutes" and with most news events the truth follows some
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time later.The next day I called a few people I knew to
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inquire whether they had seen it.Vince Johnson and Bill
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Eatwell had not.
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However, later, Bill called me back with a mysterious
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message. He said that after speaking of this program to
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some of his friends, an unnamed caller instructed him to
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contact me and ask that I refrain from speaking about the
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footage any further and, in particular, not publish anything
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about this in HUFON REPORT. If I agreed and showed good
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faith, I would receive more information about the event. At
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first,this rubbed me wrong. I could understand that if the
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footage was a "smoking gun" and if an investigation was
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underway, the need for secrecy may be justified. What I
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couldn't accept was hearing all this third hand. If I am
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asked to spike a story, I want to know who is doing the
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asking. Instead, I was mollified by the promise of straight
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answers to any 10 questions I wished to ask about the
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HardCopy footage. My curiosity, at this point, had grown
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exponentially. Being the beggar and unable to choose, I
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agreed.
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On June 8, I faxed the 10 questions I had compiled to Bill.
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He, in turn, faxed them to a neutral fax location (number)
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he was given. The questions were as follows:
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1) What is the entire scenario of what I witnessed
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(i.e., what was transpiring)?
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2) Which shuttle mission did this occur on?
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3) If the object is an alien spacecraft, what was its
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size, speed and distance from the camera?
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4) Was this object taking evasive action to avoid
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some sort of weaponry?
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5) On the footage I saw, there was a brief flash that
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brightened the entire frame just before
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the object made the right angle turn. What caused this
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flash?
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6) Could this be or have some relationship with SDI
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testing?
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7) What is the position or opinion of the astronauts
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who filmed the object?
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8) How did "HardCopy" or Don Ecker obtain this
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footage?
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9) Does the extent of this investigation include
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congressional interest? In other words, give me some idea
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of what level of personnel is working on this.
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10) When can the public or I expect this investigation
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to conclude?
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With the exception of number 3 (an obviously loaded
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question), it seemed like a good list.
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On June 10th, I was at work when I received a call from
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Bill. He says that the person involved with the
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investigation would be faxing me the answers within the next
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hour. The answers arrived on schedule. The answer sheet
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began with a few paragraphs stating the need for secrecy,
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the rules I must follow and the request that I not get
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paranoid. It stated that the "HardCopy" footage was of
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"Event #2", taken during STS-48. Further, it was NASA's
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opinion that the flash was from an attitude thruster firing.
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Lastly, The sheet stated that three major government offices
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were involved and that an official congressional inquiry had
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occurred.That was it. Bill Eatwell's involvement ceased at
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this point at the insistence of the unnamed source. I was
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also enjoined to not reveal any of this to anyone, including
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Bill.So here I was, involved in an honest-to-God high level
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investigation. Yet, all I could do was sit and wait. Just
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days from this, we would be publishing the June HUFON
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REPORT. Though anxious to tell someone, anyone of this, I
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held my peace and reported nothing in the newsletter. A
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little over two weeks later, another event changed the
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course of my involvement.
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What with the presidential race developing into a three way
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free-for-all, I had been checking out "Larry King Live" on
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CNN each night. On June 26 at 8:32pm (30 minutes into his
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show), I suddenly remembered Larry King and switched to it.
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Astonishingly enough, he was introducing Don Ecker in LA.
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and James Oberg (ostensibly representing NASA) in Houston.
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The topic? You guessed it. I jumped up (I'm getting good
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at this) and shoved a tape in. What followed was a head to
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head confrontation between Don, doing his best impression of
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a UFO investigator, incensed at the government cover-up that
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Oberg was there to perpetrate and James, doing his best to
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appear as an interested "space nut" while touting the NASA
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line. Between the personal attacks on each other (that
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Larry King appeared powerless to control), some facts were
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revealed that jibed with the information I had received.
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This, at least, verified that I was dealing with a serious
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investigator.
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One of the calls taken that night by Larry King was from
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Vincent DiPietro from Sykesville, MD. He apparently had
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digitally enhanced some of the Event #2 footage revealing a
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possible domed object. Mr. Ecker knew of this and, by
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inference, admitted he knew Mr. DiPietro. Still, Mr.
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DiPietro's opinion followed the NASA party line; that the
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object was an ice crystal that moved suddenly due to a
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shuttle attitude thruster firing. His opinion is noteworthy
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due to his name showing up in a very prominent manner later.
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But, I'm getting ahead of myself. More on Vincent DiPietro
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later.
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Although I was told not to, I called Bill once more and
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informed him that while I was keeping my mouth shut, the
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story was showing up on nationally broadcast programs.
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Enough was enough. I had shown good faith. The secrecy was
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becoming an irritant, if for no other reason than my friend
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and UFO confidant (not to mention co-editor of HUFON REPORT,
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Vince Johnson, deserved to know about this story. Now I
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wanted to talk to someone. After this call, I wondered if I
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would hear from anyone again. I didn't have to wait long.
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On Saturday, June 27th, Bill called me with a very brief
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message. The source of my information would be calling me
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in 15 minutes. Well, finally. Moments later, the phone
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rang. To my surprise, it was Ron Madeley, a past president
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of HUFON. He explained that he was giving me exclusive
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information, unavailable to any other publication. He
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stated that his belief in my seriousness to the study of
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UFOs and his opinion that HUFON REPORT had become the best
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UFO newsletter around helped him pick me. I'm not above
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praise so I thanked him, then insisted that I be shown
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something to convince me. Exactly, what was going on? Why
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"Event 2"? Were there other events? He agreed to visit me
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and bring the visual evidence of more than I was
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aware of. This story was about to become something much
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bigger, involving Congressional evasion, implausible
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deniability, and a flock of scientists, astronauts and
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physicists.
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A few days later, Ron arrived at my house, bearing a
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briefcase. We sat on the sofa as he discussed some of the
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background of this particular shuttle flight. STS-48 was a
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September '91 launch of the space shuttle Discovery. It
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carried several scientific experiments including radiation
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monitoring, zero gravity crystal growth, polymer growth and
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rodent physiology. Cargo payloads included the UARS (Upper
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Atmospheric Research Satellite) and the APM-03 (Atmospheric
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Particle Monitor-3). There were five crew members: John
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Creighton, Commander; Kenneth Reightler, Jr. Pilot; Charles
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D. Gemar, Mission Specialist 1; James F. Buchli, Mission
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Specialist 2; and Mark N. Brown, Mission Specialist 3.
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Although this was not a DoD mission, all crew members were
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active duty military personnel. Ron mentioned a few other
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tidbits about congressional involvement but did not
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elaborate any further. The time had come to show and tell.
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He handed me a video tape. He explained he was going to
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show me Event #2 as it should be seen, not the multi-
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generational degraded footage shown on "HardCopy".
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He was not exaggerating. This footage was not only
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extremely sharp and clear, but it was evident that the
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"HardCopy" footage had been an apertured-down version
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restricting the field of view. This time It was evident
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that the object did not suddenly appear, rather it had
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appeared when its course brought it from behind the Earth's
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rim, revealing itself against the dark Earth below. There
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were other anomalous objects in the frame. Some were moving
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in a similar direction but slower, while others appeared to
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be slowly converging on the first object. Ron explained
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that the real curiosity was the NASA explanation. During
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the course of all shuttle flights there is a long schedule
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of events. Everything from course corrections, rotating the
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shuttle due to the sun's heat and waste water ejection are
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performed according to schedule. NASA had stated that the
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brief flare was the firing of an attitude adjustment jet,
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required just prior to the waste water ejection procedure.
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Further, they explained that the object seen to make a right
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hand turn was merely a small ice crystal reacting to the
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thruster fire. The problem with this is that, based on
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actual NASA audio logs of the mission, an attitude
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adjustment and subsequent waste water ejection procedure
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occurred just after Event 2! The NASA explanation was
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patently wrong.
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In the days that followed, Ron began to relate the details
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of the on-going investigation that these anomalous events
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had created. The number of players was enormous and as I
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was inundated by the names, dates, and activities, I finally
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admitted to Ron that he must allow me to bring another
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person in on this. I requested that Vince Johnson be
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included. He agreed. After the initial couple of meetings
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I had with Mr. Madeley, The three of us finally gathered at
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my home to view all the footage and to receive some further
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information for the inevitable writing of this article. We
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first viewed Event 2, bringing Vince up to date.
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As amazing as this footage was, we were not prepared for the
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next bit of tape he showed us. As I loaded another tape he
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gave me into the machine, Ron explained that there were a
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total of six events recorded during the STS-48 mission. He
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hit the play button and showed us an amazing Event #3. This
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piece of footage is hard to describe due to the overwhelming
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activity present during the several seconds. The view was
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of the Earth in daylight. Clouds obscured much of the
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unidentified land mass below. As we watched, a small object
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streaked across the bottom of the frame right to left.
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Then, another, from left to right. A larger, bright object
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entered from upper left frame and traveled to the lower
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right. It appeared elongated, then slowed and became
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rounder, then exited the picture. Still another object,
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even brighter, entered from the lower left corner and
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traveled diagonally toward the upper right hand corner.
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Approximately midway, a smaller object streaked from the
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right and appeared to either intersect or pass above or
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below the brighter object. The bright object continued out
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of frame. Immediately following this, all hell seemed to
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break loose as multiple objects of varying brightness
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streaked through the field of ections; left to right, right
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to left, upper to lower; incredible activity everywhere! If
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all the anomalies had been traveling in the same direction a
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case could have been made that we were witnessing
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meteorites, but this was no meteor shower.
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The last anomalous event within this Event #3 was perhaps
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the strangest, and of the shortest duration. In the upper
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left hand corner of the frame a very unusual object appeared
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for a brief moment before the view was switched to another
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shuttle camera. This object looked all the world like a
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domed object moving left to right! When viewed several
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times in a row, this impression was strengthened. This
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object could not be explained easily. Following this, we
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were shown Events #6, #4 and #1. These events, although
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significant, were minor compared to #2 and #3.
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On November 11, 1991, Vincent DiPietro, an employee of GSFC
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(Goddard Space Flight Center), issued a report to the Fund
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for UFO Research detailing his own investigation into the
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first four events of STS-48. It is interesting to note that
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Mr. DiPietro's report, written long before the Larry King
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show, shows a distinct pro-UFO stance contrasting greatly
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with his opinion offered to Larry King. During his
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inquiries he spoke to several scientists, astronauts and
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other ranking individuals. He asked each to describe the
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four events. Those claiming that the objects were ice were:
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Dr. Paul Lowman, Lunar Geologist Scientist at GSFC, Dr.
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Terry Dawson, Space Science and Technology Committee, Dr.
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Ken Rightler, STS-48 Astronaut, and Dr. Mark Brown, STS-48
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Astronaut. Dr. Ron Parise, Astronaut at GSFC, claimed that
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the objects were meteors (even though he refused to view the
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tape). Don Haxton, Astronomer for the Space Telescope,
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claimed that the objects were not meteors. At the time of
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Mr. DiPietro's report, the NASA Public Affairs
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Administrators at GSFC had not responded to his inquiries,
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nor had Dr. Bogges, Chief Scientist for the Space Telescope
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project at GSFC. Among the various explanations given to
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explain the anomalous events were: the rockets on the side
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of STS-48 could have produced a blast of gas which could
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have deflected the objects, causing the unusual right-hand
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turn, and that STS-48 was just coming into the daylight and
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the objects (that seemed to appear out of thin air) could
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have been there all along, but might have been illuminated
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by sunlight when Event #2 started. Based on his
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investigation, Vincent DiPietro could come to no firm
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conclusions concerning the strange events of STS-48.
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All of this evidence suggests some very odd activity during
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this shuttle mission. Mr. Madeley's own investigation has
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lasted more than five months. Several experts, in a variety
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of fields, have agreed to make their opinions available to
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him in exchange for being allowed to remain anonymous. The
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following article provides a more detailed look at Events 1,
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2, 3, 4 and 6.
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Mr. Madeley graciously provided much of the details for
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Event 2. The details of the other events are either written
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from memory (we weren't allowed our own copy of the footage)
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or are taken from Mr. DiPietro's own investigation. We will
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be bringing you further information on this emerging story
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as it becomes available.
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During his investigation, Ron was showing the Event 3
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footage over and over to an engineer working at the NASA
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Johnson Space Center. Ron asked what he thought it all was.
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The engineer replied, "I keep watching different things
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everytime you play it. Like I told you before; I
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thought I was watching a Star Wars movie or something from
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Hollywood!" And, in the words of one scientist working at
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the Sandia National Laboratories, "You have something quite
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important there."
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Copyright 1992 by Houston UFO Network / David Mayo
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End of File
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**********************************************
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* THE U.F.O. BBS - http://www.ufobbs.com/ufo *
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