I'm afraid this is utterly bogus. Here's why:

1. I recognized the crew members; this is the "Dog Crew II" of STS-69. As in the STS-69 that flew in September of 1995. Not last year, as was implied by the message.

2. At least on non-DoD missions, which this was, the only conversations not transmitted in the clear over NASA Select TV are short private medical conferences.

3. I was in the MCC (Mission Control Center) building for that flight, working as a payload controller for Wake Shield Facility. One floor away from the Flight Control Room (FCR, the room you see on TV), we monitored all communications on the standard A/G-1 (Air to Ground 1) loop. Sorry, no UFOs.

4. Somehow, all the people working there, including FCR and backroom folks, forgot to get excited about this encounter with a glowing city-sized UFO.

5. Statement of personal incredulity: I've met Dave Walker; he wouldn't spout such breathless nonsense under *any* circumstances.

So, cosmicdave, I think you can tell whoever sent that to you that it's just plain false. If it's not too much trouble, ask them, in light of my observations above, if they still believe it. If so, kindly ask them to provide some sort of proof, or at least a specific time when this was supposed to have happened.

Cheers!


<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: sts60 on 2002-06-11 17:33 ]</font>