Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!purdue!haven!grebyn!macom1!larry
From: larry@macom1.UUCP (Larry Taborek)
Newsgroups: sci.space
Subject: Re: Discovery - UFO Close Encounter?
Message-ID: <4816@macom1.UUCP>
Date: 3 Apr 89 15:36:03 GMT
References: <10245@nsc.nsc.com>
Organization: CENTEL Federal Systems, Reston, VA. 22091-1506
Lines: 49

From article <10245@nsc.nsc.com>, by ken@nsc.nsc.com (Ken Trant):
> 
> article <7751@pyr.gatech.EDU>, ccoprmd@pyr.gatech.EDU (Mat T. DeLuca) says:
> % Xref: nsc sci.space:10486 rec.ham-radio:1579 talk.rumors:907 misc.headlines:11954
> % In article <4440@drivax.UUCP> macleod@drivax.UUCP (MacLeod) writes:

Skipping story of news pickup of interesting transmission from
space shuttle.

> I think the poster suggested that the "fire on board" statement might have been
> prearranged code to switch to another channel. Not to unlikely.
> 

I suggest that the "fire on board" statement would be VERY
unlikely.  NASA would more likely specify for a crew to broadcast
a "switching to channel xxy" message, where channel xxy is a
secure channel, then a "fire on board" message.  After all, what
if there was a fire on board?  Would the crew pass along a
cryptic "alian spacecraft spotted" message instead, for NASA to
puzzle through their code books for?  I think not!  A "Fire on
board" message, or any other emergency message would not be coded
by NASA to mean something other then exactly what it says.  No, a
fire on board message could not be a prearranged code.

Remember the fire where Grissim, White and Chaffie died in their
Apollo space craft on the launch pad?  There, the message was, if
memory serves me "Fire in the space craft!" (perhaps space craft
and the word capsule should be exchanged).  In either case, the
message was not encoded to be anything other then what it means.

If this were a NASA message that actually meant "fire on board",
why would there not been a lot of excited discussion between
ground control and the space shuttle?  I suggest that the reason
was because it was not a NASA generated message.  It would make
no sense if it was.

If this was not a NASA message, then what was it?

A "Fire on board" message closely followed by a "alien space
craft spotted" message shows me that some ham radio operator (or
other radio wizard) was probably having fun.

I mean to suggest no guilty party or individual, but only a more
sensible explination.
-- 
Larry Taborek	..!uunet!grebyn!macom1!larry	Centel Federal Systems
		larry@macom1.UUCP		11400 Commerce Park Drive
						Reston, VA 22091-1506
						703-758-7000