"I'm here in Pasadena with the NASA mission control team as they celebrate scientific history-- the first close-up photographic transmissions of Mars from the Viking Observer spacecraft-- photos that have created a stir by revealing surprising geologic information:" "the presence of large amounts of water locked in Mars' polar ice caps-- water that some speculate could have possibly sustained life on the planet." "Even more controversial is one image of a land formation-- a formation that looks like a sculpted human face." "However, NASA officials are denying it as an indication of an alien civilization." "It's nothing more than a trick of light and shadows-- a geologic anomaly." "The only sculptors at work are the solar winds that blow across the surface of Mars at 300 miles an hour, ten months a year." "I'm seeing-- I've got" "How's it going out there?" "There's something out here." "Can you repeat that, Commander?" "It's coming at me!" "Holy God!" "Pickup terminal sequence, M.P.S." "You have a go to proceed." "Boost your hydraulic power units." "This is Shuttle Launch Control with Tminus one minute fifteen seconds and counting." "O.T.C. to C.D.R. How do you read?" "Loud and clear." "Go ahead." "Roger that." "Port setup two zero." "Copy." "Setup two zero." "C.D.R. Houston, how do you read?" "Loud and clear." "Side hatch close out and white room configuration is complete." "Retracting orbiter arm." "O.M .S. pressure on." "Cabin vent complete." "Roger, we see that." "All systems go for A.P.U. start." "Pre-start complete." "A.P.U. to inhibit." "Oxygen vent hood retracted." "External tank is at flight pressure." "Lock your visors and initiate your O2 flow." "Y'all have a good trip." "Roger that." "T-minus 20 seconds and counting." "Go for auto-sequence start." "Booster hydraulic power units have started." "Go for main engine start." "T-minus ten, nine, eight seven, six, five, four, three..." "Abort liftoff." "Abort liftoff." "System failure." "Abort liftoff." "Repeat." "We have an aborted liftoff." "Scully:" "What did the note say?" "Just that they worked for NASA." "They wanted to talk to somebody from the F.B.I." "Why the cloak-and-dagger routine?" "I have no idea." "Think it's a crank?" "It's beginning to look that way." "My name is Michelle Generoo." "Fox Mulder." "I sent you the note." "Special Agent Dana Scully." "I'm sorry to have to take these precautions." "I flew up from Houston this morning." "I work at the space center there." "In what capacity?" "I'm the Mission Control Communications Commander for the shuttle." "What brings you to Washington?" "There may be a saboteur at work inside NASA." "You have evidence of sabotage?" "I don't know." "I may." "Two weeks ago a shuttle mission was scrubbed three seconds before lift-off when an auxiliary power unit valve malfunctioned." "If the flight had not been aborted there was a great chance the liquid fuel system and the orbiter would have exploded on the launch pad." "This was sent to me in the mail." "It's a material analysis that shows deep-grooved scoring marks inside this A.P.U. valve-- marks that could have caused a malfunction." "Evidence of tampering?" "That's what it looks like, but..." "According to the person who gave me your names you have expertise in unexplained phenomena." "And what's unexplainable is how anybody could have done it." "How do you mean?" "The valve is made of ferrocarbon titanium." "To score that material would take extreme launch pad temperatures." "If NASA looked at that analysis they would say no one could do that type of damage undetected." "Do you have any idea who sent that to you?" "No idea." "The official analysis of the malfunction was simple mechanical failure." "Does anybody share your suspicions?" "If they do they're not talking to the F.B.I." "I believe in the space program and the people who run it but there's another launch window tomorrow." "My reasons may sound selfish, but my fiancé is a Shuttle Commander on that mission." "Scully:" "Why would somebody want to sabotage the Space Shuttle?" "Well, if you were a terrorist there probably isn't a more potent symbol of American progress and prosperity." "If you're an opponent of big science" "NASA itself represents a vast money trench that exists outside the crucible and debate of the democratic process." "And, of course, there are those futurists who believe the Space Shuttle is a rusty old bucket-- a dinosaur spacecraft built in the '7 0s by scientists setting their sights on space in an ever-declining scale." "And we thought we could rest easy with the fall of the Soviet Union." "Not to mention certain fringe elements who accuse our government itself of space sabotage-- the failure of the Hubble Telescope and the Mars Observer are directly connected to a conspiracy to deny us evidence." "Evidence of what?" "Alien civilizations." "Oh, of course." "Look at that-- Gemini Eight." "What?" "The man we're seeing-- Colonel Belt-- nearly died on that mission." "Made an emergency landing in the middle of the Pacific Ocean." "You remember that stuff?" "You never wanted to be an astronaut when you were a kid?" "I missed that phase." "Come in." "Colonel Belt." "I'm special agent Dana Scully." "And this is..." "Colonel Belt." "Fox Mulder." "I'm a big fan." "It's an honor to meet you." "You were a big hero to me." "Thank you." "I stayed up all night when I was 1 4 to watch your space walk." "Well, now it's like a stroll around the block." "So... how can I help you?" "This found its way to the F.B.I." "Do you recognize it?" "Sure." "It's an auxiliary power unit valve." "Do you have any reason to believe that the damage done to it was in an effort to sabotage the Space Shuttle program?" "No." "Any reason to suspect sabotage at all?" "No reason whatsoever." "And if you have any respect for this program and for the people who have devoted their lives to it you'll be careful to whom you make those accusations." "Looking at this evidence, sir would you consider postponing the shuttle flight until a full investigation could be conducted?" "I don't know where you got this specious artifact but every precaution has been taken to rectify the problem." "We've been waiting two weeks for a window to initiate this mission." "We've got a payload to deliver." "Has an internal investigation ever been done on this matter?" "The part you have here has been installed, inspected, and designed by over 1 00 highly trained technicians." "With the security measures we take it would be virtually impossible for one man working by himself or two, or four men to do what you're suggesting." "I can assure you there isn't a person in this facility that doesn't want to see that shuttle go into space complete its mission and come back like winged Victory herself." "And in about ten hours, God willing you'll see just that." "Do you think there would be a problem with us watching the lift-off from mission control?" "Well, being that you'd probably go over my head anyway please, be my guest." "It was an honor, sir." "Thank you." "Didn't you want to get his autograph?" "Man:" "Where did you say you got this?" "Scully:" "It came to us anonymously." "This is an A.P.U. valve, all right." "This doesn't make sense." "What doesn't make sense?" "This scoring here." "This valve is made out of ferrocarbon titanium." "You didn't order the analysis?" "No, but we're on outside contract to NASA." "They may have ordered it." "Wouldn't you order a material analysis if a part malfunctioned?" "Every shuttle has flown with that same valve with no problem." "To do an analysis would delay the program for months not to mention the cost." "In order to avoid delays is the program being pushed ahead without proper safety precaution?" "There are about 1 7,000 things that can go wrong with the shuttle and about 1 7,000 people who make sure they don't." "Who makes the final determination as to its safety?" "We make a recommendation but ultimately, the decision is Colonel Belt's." " Thank you." " Thank you." "What do you think?" "I can't believe how much faith we put in machines." "You think Colonel Belt knows more than he's saying?" "He lied about his knowledge of a saboteur?" "I can't believe Colonel Belt would endanger the lives of those astronauts knowing that something might go wrong." "He was an astronaut himself." "So you think this X ray is bogus?" "God, I hope so." "This is Shuttle Launch Control with T-minus one minute 45 and counting." "Here we go." "This is Shuttle Launch Control with Tminus one minute 30." "Final approach sequence." "Main engines ready." "Main engine check." "Switching off ground supply." "Roger, O.T.C." "Houston:" "Pick up terminal sequence M." "O.T.C. to C.D.R. How do you read?" "Charge capacitor energy storage banks are all at 2 4 1." "O.T.C. to C.D.R. How do you read?" "Loud and clear." "C.D.R. to Houston." "How do you read?" "Loud and clear." "Side hatch closeout and white room configuration complete." "Retracting orbiter arm." "All systems go for A.P.U. start." "We have A.P.U. start." "B.B .S.R. power down and ready for launch." "Transfer to internal power." "Main engines complete." "Aero surfaces in launch position." "Military recorder is running." "Okay." "Copy." "Oxygen vent hood retracted." "External tank is at flight pressure." "Okay, C.D.R. , lock your visors and initiate your O2 flow." "Y'all have a good one." "Roger that." "Go for auto-sequence start." "Booster hydraulic units have started." "Go for main engine start." "Tminus ten and counting. 9, 8, 7," "6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1." "Zero." "Ignition." "We have liftoff." "C.D.R. to Houston." "Great job." "Roger that." "1 0-4." "Roger." "Throttle back." "Main engine at 65 percent." "Roger." "Throttle at 1 1 0 percent." "Roger, O.T.C." "I have to admit that I fulfilled one of my boyhood fantasies." "It ranks right up there with getting a pony and learning how to braid my own hair." "You have to admit that was exciting" "Mission control, countdown..." "Mulder!" "Wait!" "Something's gone wrong." "What happened?" "Something's wrong with the shuttle." "We had some trouble with the solid rocket boosters but we fixed it." "Got a phone call 20 minutes ago." "Communication with the shuttle had gone down." "We've got to get back to Houston." "They have a press blackout in effect." "Chances are, the media doesn't know about it." "Sabotage?" "Things go wrong all the time." "But they usually fix them." "Usually." "She's turning." "Michelle!" "I can see her." "Michelle!" "Help!" "You all right?" "I'm stuck!" "Can you move?" "Just get me out of here!" "I'm wedged in." "You all right?" "I'm wedged in." "Come here." "Can you push with your legs?" "Be careful." "Just get me out of here!" "Come on." "Okay." "It's okay." "Don't try to move." "Oh, I got to get back to Houston." "What happened?" "I don't know." "Something came at me in the fog and next thing I knew, I was upside down." "Was it some kind of an animal?" "No." "It had a face." "It was..." "It was grotesque." "I don't know what it was." "You okay?" "Yeah." "Orbiter, this is Houston." "Do you copy?" "Your transmission is breaking up, Houston." "What's happening?" "A malf in the O.M.S. and R.C.F. systems." "They can't get the orbiter into attitude rotation." "Cabin temperature is 1 03 and they have downlink transmission..." "What happened to you?" "I had an accident." "What's their position?" "Just over eastern Africa." "Try patching them into the Seychelles Tracking Station." "All right." "Hang in there, O.T.C." "The orbiter maneuvering systems malfunctioned." "They need to rotate the shuttle away from the sun to keep the orbiter cool." "Drop in cabin pressure 21 kilopascals and declining." "They're going to burn up." "Where's Colonel Belt?" "On his way." "On his way." "What happened?" "Backup system failed." "Can we auto-activate their systems from down here?" "We cannot." "It's like someone's screwing with the uplink communications from this end." "Can you trace it?" "Digital processor." "They'd have to be in the data banks." "Where's that?" "Come on." "Scully:" "Mulder?" "I'm a Federal Agent." "Come on out of there." "What are you doing in here?" "I work here." "Let me see your clearance." "There was a malfunction in one of the processors." "Did you find it?" "No." "Did you see anybody else here?" "Call security." "I don't want anybody coming in or out of this building who doesn't have proper clearance." "( garbled transmission )" "What's the attitude of the orbiter?" "They're flying tail first, sir belly towards the sun." "Flash evaporator system is working but it's not enough to cool them down." "Cabin temperature 1 1 6." "Where's..?" "Somebody's jamming our transmissions." "Somebody or something is interfering with our ground communications and scrambling our uplink telemetry." "The shuttle is not responding to override signals." "I'm cutting off telemetry." "We might lose contact for good." "We have to give it a chance." "We have to bring them down." "We have to give them control of the ship to perform that rotation maneuver and deliver the payload." "What if they can't?" "We could be stranding them." "Abandon telemetry." "Go to fly-by-wire mode." "They're cutting off ground control to the orbiter." "The astronauts will be flying the shuttle all by themselves." "Is it gonna work?" "O.T.C., this is Houston." "How's the weather up there?" "Sunny and warm, Houston." "What's the forecast?" "O.T.C., we're going to fly-by-wire mode." "We're going to abort ground control to see if you can bring those systems back up." "Roger that, Houston and leave the driving to us." "David... you take care." "What just happened?" "They cut off contact with the shuttle." "Generoo:" "45 seconds." "If they were able to execute they'd have done it by now." "Standing by." "60 seconds." "Go to reestablish uplink communication." "Video signal's failed." "O.T.C., this is Houston." "Do you copy?" "O.T.C., this is Houston." "Where are you?" "Howdy-do, Houston." "Looks like we finally got this bird to fly right." "O.T.C., do you hear that?" "Music to our ears." "Cabin temperature stabilizing." "O.T.C., this is Mark Belt in Houston." "How's the crew holding up?" "They're looking good, sir." "Y'all get some rest." "We'll get back to work at about 07 00." "Roger, Houston." "Let's get to work on that telemetry problem." "We got a big day ahead of us." "Belt:" "Let's just let the electronic press get their sound equipment set." "Are we set up in here?" "Do you want to test this mike?" "( shouting questions )" "I know you have a lot of questions." "I'll get to them." "How did he know it was going to work?" "He didn't." "They could have died and there would have been nothing we could have done." "They'd have been a ghost ship stuck in orbit." "Why would he take that risk?" "Bring those men back without delivering that payload?" "That's millions of wasted dollars." "That's all congress would need to shut down NASA." "Belt:" "As of 2200 hours the crew has been conducting on-board tests and tasks and resting up for their first full day in space." "I'm happy to say after a beautiful night launch the shuttle orbiter has performed magnificently." "( reporters shouting questions )" "So much for your boyhood hero." "Colonel Belt?" "Colonel Belt?" "Can I talk to you for a moment?" "You want to know why I lied to them." "You're asking yourself if this means" "I'd lie to you." "You know what it means to be an astronaut, sir?" "You risk your life every time you get into your spacecraft for nothing more than the good progress of mankind." "No argument from me." "You're true American heroes." "Heroes?" "We made headlines when we did our job right." "Now they bury you in the back of the paper." "Name me two astronauts on the last shuttle." "You make the front page today only if you screw up." "They only know your name if you're the unlucky S.O.B. sitting on 500 tons of dynamite." "That's what they're really waiting for." "Sir, I have to ask." "I'm sorry, it's my job." "Do you think someone is sabotaging the shuttle?" "My answer to you, sir, will be to bring those men back safely to earth." "Oh, God." "How's it going out there?" "There's something out here!" "Can you repeat that, Commander?" "It's coming at me!" "Holy God!" "Houston, we just heard something weird up here." "O.T.C. Houston, can you describe it?" "Sort of a dull thump, like something bumped the ship." "Got any ideas about that?" "( banging )" "There it is again." "Pull it out?" "Yeah." "That one right there." "They've got an oxygen leak onboard the orbiter." "Our O2 gauges are going all screwy, Houston." "We got problems." "We've got an O2 leak in the main tank." "What happened?" "They don't know." "They just said it was a thump." "An astronomer in Winnipeg just spotted a gaseous cloud a mile long trailing in our orbit." "That's the liquid O2 leaking into space." "This happened to Colonel Belt on an Apollo mission." "How much time do they have?" "We're doing the calculations but it will be a guesstimate." "I need some answers." "And where is Colonel Belt?" "He was due 90 minutes ago to begin payload deployment." "Houston?" "We're wondering when we have to start holding our breath." "We're working on it." "I need those calculations and a worst-case scenario." "We don't know if both O2 tanks are damaged." "Worst-case scenario!" "And someone find Colonel Belt." "We'll find Colonel Belt." "They've got 30 minutes of backup oxygen." "Why does she need Belt?" "She doesn't know how serious the leak is." "It's an oxygen leak." "Even I know what happens when you run out of oxygen." "Colonel Belt's been in the same situation." "He'll know what to do." "Where the hell is he?" "Colonel Belt?" "Colonel Belt!" "I'm going to go get security." "Colonel Belt." "Are you all right?" "Yeah." "I wasn't feeling well." "They need you at mission control." "There's been another accident." "O.T.C." "Is your orbital maneuvering system still operational?" "Roger, Houston." "We're ready for reentry." "Just say the word." "How bad's the leak?" "We have no way to determine." "O.T.C., what's the condensation on your cabin?" "Windows are getting a little steamy." "Carbon dioxide buildup." "Okay, O.T.C." "Everything's going to be fine." "I want you to get in your spacesuits and de-pressurize your cabin." "And then I want you to vent that CO2." "And then what?" "I want you to stay in your suits." "I want you to prepare to use your emergency oxygen systems." "And then I want you... to... deliver your payload." "Those are men up there." "You're out of line." "You want to tell me how to do my job?" "I've been up there in that situation, Miss Generoo." "There's more at risk here than your personal life." "If you can't accept that or operate effectively in these circumstances then maybe you'd better leave the decisions to people who can." "O.T.C." "Do you copy?" "Roger, Houston." "We're waiting on those O2 calculations." "( sniffling )" "Scully:" "Michelle!" "They're going to die." "You don't know that." "It's unconscionable putting that payload before those men's lives." "I think she's right." "He's losing it." "He saved their lives earlier." "Did he, or did he put their lives in jeopardy?" "If he can't deliver that payload" "Congress kills the space program." "Killing astronauts won't have the same effect?" "I think somebody must have sabotaged the Space Shuttle." "I think Colonel Belt has known about it from the beginning." "We've got to stop him." "We've got to pull them out of orbit." "He doesn't want those men to die." "He put them up there." "He may be the only person who can get them down alive." "How can you be certain that what he's doing won't save their lives?" "I need access to your records in a hurry." "Mulder:" "I need everything on the Hubble Telescope the Mars Observer, the Shuttle Challenger and the current orbiter mission." "That's tens of thousands of documents." "What are we looking for?" "X rays, diagrams, schematics-- any proof that Belt knew about a sabotage." "A needle in a haystack." "Payload deployment initiated." "Roger that, O.T.C. Tracking it now." "Looks good from here." "Payload delivery is complete, Houston." "We're awaiting your order." "System check for reentry de-orbit burn." "Holy God, there's something outside the ship" "Holy God, there's something outside the ship" "There's someone outside the ship!" "Can you repeat that, O.T.C.?" "There's some kind of ghost outside the ship!" "No!" "( whimpering ) No, no, no!" "( screaming )" "Mulder" "I found it." "This is the same diagram that was sent to Michelle." "Ordered by Colonel Belt, which means he knew about the faulty valve." "This is from the Challenger." "It's the O-ring fitting that failed." "It's dated one week before the Space Shuttle blew up." "The analysis was ordered by Colonel Belt." "You're saying he might have known about the Challenger defect?" "Something weird is going on here, Scully." "Colonel Belt's collapsed." "He's in his office." "He was just here." "( whimpering )" "Scully:" "Oh, my God." "Generoo:" "What's wrong with him?" "Mulder:" "Get a doctor." "( whimpering )" "Help me." "Help me." "How can we help you, Colonel?" "He's having some kind of a seizure, Mulder." "Come on, come on!" "Belt:" "It's tearing me apart!" "See if I can get a pulse." "( moaning )" "Help me." "Oh, help me." "I'm bringing that shuttle down." "No!" "It's out there!" "Easy, easy." "Belt:" "Spacesuits!" "Give him" "Diazepam." "No." "He's going to hurt himself." "He's trying to tell us something." "Those men are running out of oxygen." "They don't have to die." "I want you to focus." "Focus your breathing." "Focus your pain." "Right here." "Blood pressure 1 7 4 over 1 20." "Vitals are rising." "Mulder you're risking an aneurysm." "Focus." "Now you're focused." "Right here." "Now, you're going to save those astronauts and you're going to tell me how to do it." "The shuttle can't survive reentry." "No." "He's lying." "How do you know it can't survive?" "The fuselage..." "The fuselage is damaged." "The silicone tiles are destroyed." "How does he know?" "How has it been damaged?" "I'm responsible." "Did you sabotage the shuttle?" "No, but I couldn't stop them." "Nobody can stop them." "Stop who?" "Pulse 1 94." "You'll kill him." "Stop who?" "They don't want us to know." "They don't want us to know." "Who?" "It came to me." "It lives in me." "It's coming at me!" "It's coming at me!" "( screaming )" "And now" "Help me!" "It's coming back!" "Generoo:" "That's the face I saw in the fog." "We're losing him." "Defib." "Here you go." "Clear." "Hit it." "They're out of oxygen." "They've got exactly 30 minutes left in the backup system." "They're going to suffocate up there." "I've got no choice but to bring them down." "It's the only chance I've got." "Again." "O2 standing by..." "Hold on." "We've got vitals." "Scully:" "We've got to get him to a hospital." "O.T.C., this is Houston Mission Control." "Do you copy?" "Roger, Houston." "We've got some spooky stuff up here." "O.T.C., we're going to bring you down." "We want you to instigate de-orbit burn and begin deceleration." "Roger, Houston." "I was hoping you'd say that." "Activating O.M .S. rockets." "All systems go for reentry." "They're bringing the shuttle down." "You said the shuttle would burn up on reentry." "Is there anything we can do to save it?" "Change the trajectory." "Change the trajectory to what?" "Change the reentry trajectory to 3 5 degrees." "We've got to change the reentry trajectory." "Generoo:" "What?" "Change it to 3 5 degrees. 30 seconds to ionosphere reentry." "Belt..." "I can't. 25 seconds." "It's your only shot." "We'd have to change landing site and inform them before blackout." "1 5 seconds to blackout." "What's the weather in Albuquerque?" "Are we go for an emergency landing?" "Weather in Albuquerque?" "Landing conditions go in Albuquerque." "T-minus five seconds to blackout." "O.T.C., this is Houston." "Change your trajectory to 3 5 degrees." "You'll be landing in Albuquerque." "Ionosphere reentry." "They get that transmission?" "Two minutes to reestablish." "Damn it." "How much oxygen do they have? 1 6 minutes." "O.T.C., this is Houston." "Come in, O.T.C." "O.T.C., this is Houston." "Come in, O.T.C.!" "Anything?" "What's the point of their new reentry?" "West of Hawaii." "Hawaii's picked the shuttle up on radar." "They made it." "Not necessarily." "Albuquerque, do you have radar confirmation?" "Negative, Houston." "Nothing on the screen." "O.T.C., this is Houston." "Come in, O.T.C." "O.T.C., this is Houston!" "Come in, O.T.C.!" "Houston, this is O.T.C." "You know a good place to eat in Albuquerque?" "We could meet for dinner." " Whoo!" " O.T.C., welcome home." "You're looking real good." "Man:" "Yes!" "The Space Shuttle touched down today at 1 0:56 Central Standard Time." "The orbiter delivered its payload after just 1 3 orbits and returned to earth without incident." "We at NASA are looking forward to our next shuttle mission and to future successful explorations of space." "For mankind and for the future of mankind." "( beeping )" "No..." "No more!" "( door opens )" "I just heard." "Something had possessed him-- something he must have seen out there in space." "The doctors who examined him said he was experiencing severe dementia." "I don't think he ever really knew exactly how it was working through him or that he ever knew that he was... responsible for his own actions." "He ordered those X rays of the damaged parts." "I think he was trying to warn her." "I think that he sent Michelle those X rays like he was trying to reach out to her without quite knowing why as if his own instinctual impulse was to save those men." "While simultaneously trying to kill them?" "Scully, we send those men up into space to unlock the doors of the universe and we don't even know what's behind them." "I think whatever it was, he took it with him." "And in the end, that was the only way he knew how to stop it." "There's an investigation, you know." "They haven't ruled out foul play." "He gave his own life." "He was an astronaut." "That was something he was prepared to do." "Colonel Marcus Aurelius Belt devoted his life to the exploration and understanding of space-- learning its mysteries and experiencing it not just for himself but for humanity." "Lord, take this man's soul and let it rise up to your heavens, higher than he could ever go as a man." "Let him know the true nature of the universe that he sought to learn." "Boy:" "I made this."