Message: 10
Date: Tue, 07 Mar 2006 10:17:43 -0600 (CST)
From: <eagle267@verizon.net>
Subject: [FPSPACE] Re: FPSPACE Digest, Vol 25, Issue 6
To: fpspace@friends-partners.org
Message-ID: <803035.1141748263780.JavaMail.root@vms063.mailsrvcs.net>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1

Thanks Jim, for posting this. There is an incident back in December 1990 when
Soyuz TM-10 was followed for half of an orbit (I think orbit 7 or 8)by a winged
vehicle....Viktor Afanasyev was filmed discussing it and he drew a picture of
the object. Later, however, in 2003, he disavowed what he said back in 1991/92
about it. He basically said he was misquoted. The object, according to the
"new interpretation" was that it was some sort of wrench. I have seen the
careful drawing by Afanasyev, and it looks like no wrench I have ever seen. It
looks like a winged vehicle. ANd while in the original discussion that it was
about 60 meters in length (forgive me, I am thinking extemporaneously, as I am
at a remote location, with none of my usual materials about me), he said later
it was 6 meters in length. I have never met a wrench six meters in length.

There is corraboratory information by one of the fpspacers in Belguim I believe,
who has been recording all air-to-ground transmits from Russian spacecraft. I
discussed this with him back in 1996 or so (forget his name) and he confirmed
that there was a great deal of discussion and some excitement from the Russians
on the crew during their transit of the Atlantic (coming off of central America)
before their craft started its traverse over Europe...

This incident could likely be the craft revealed by Aviation Week.

I myself attempted to track down more about this, and even contacted Lockheed
Martin. I got a very strange response--I sent it to the Vice Pres. of the
development division (a woman at the time), and I got the response from one of
their attorneys...LOL telling me that they weren't aware of such a craft (I had
submitted to the Veep the story and drawing by Afansyev), but even if they were,
they wouldn't be able to make any comments whatsoever.

So that's my story for the assembled today.