X-FILE
108 - Space
WHEN
A SPACE SHUTTLE MISSION IS SABOTAGED, MULDER SUSPECTS IT MAY BE THE WORK
OF AN EVIL EXTRATERRESTRIAL SPIRIT THAT INHABITS THE BODY OF A FORMER GEMINI
ASTRONAUT.
Michelle Generoo, the mission control communication
commander for the Space Shuttle program, arranges for a secret meeting
with Mulder and Scully. She produces an X-ray of the shuttle's Auxiliary
Power Unit valve that she believes was tampered with. A shuttle mission
was scrubbed at the last possible second when the valve malfunctioned,
narrowly averting disaster. Where the X-ray came from, and how the incredibly
strong valve could have been tampered with, remains a mystery, though NASA
attributes the malfunction to simple mechanical failure. Fearing NASA might
overlook the possibility of sabotage to maintain launch schedule, Generoo
decided to step forward on her own.
The agents meet with Lieutenant Colonel
Marcus Aurelius Belt, a former astronaut who flew on the Gemini Eight mission
and is now the current Space Shuttle Program Director. Belt insists that
because of tight security and the sophisticated technology involved, it
would be impossible for anyone to sabotage the mission by tampering with
the valve.
When the next shuttle achieves orbit around
the Earth, a technical problem develops. Generoo, whose husband is one
of the astronauts aboard the ship, races back to Mission Control in her
car. She loses control of her vehicle when a fog bank forms into a sinister
face and rushes toward her windshield.
Mulder and Scully rescue Generoo and return
with her to Mission Control. They find technicians attempting to rotate
the shuttle before it overheats and burns in orbit. Belt orders telemetry
signals to be halted, then instructs the astronauts to fly the ship using
the onboard computer. Despite some anxious moments, the astronauts correct
the problem and regain contact with Mission Control.
A mysterious force that resembles the famous
"Mars Face" emanates from Belt's body and floats into outer space. It engulfs
the shuttle, creating an oxygen leak aboard the vessel. Belt orders the
shuttle astronauts to don space suits and deploy their payload. Generoo
becomes convinced that Belt considers the success of the mission more important
than the astronaut's lives.
Belt begins having seizures and Mulder
and Scully rush to his aid. Generoo assumes command of the mission and
orders the shuttle to return to Earth. Belt, however, insists that the
ship will burn up upon reentry unless it changes its trajectory by 35 degrees.
Generoo becomes convinced that Belt is telling the truth. She gives the
order to change trajectory, saving the shuttle.
Belt suffers another seizure. He jumps
from his hospital window, plummeting to his death. Mulder speculates that
when Belt orbited the Earth in his Gemini capsule years earlier, he was
possessed by an alien spirit, and has been fighting to regain control of
his body ever since. The force used Belt to sabotage numerous space missions.
Realizing what was happening, Belt struggled to correct the alien's sabotage
before it was too late. Mulder concludes that Belt sent the valve X-rays
to Generoo hoping to expose the potentially disastrous flaw.
Credits
THE X-FILES "SPACE" #1X08
Original Air Date: 11/12/93
CAST:
DAVID DUCHOVNY as Special Agent Fox Mulder
GILLIAN ANDERSON as Special Agent Dana Scully
GUEST CAST:
ED LAUTER as Lt. Col. Marcus Aurelius Belt
SUSANNA THOMPSON as Michelle Generoo
TOM MACBEATH as the Scientist
TERRY DAVID MULLIGAN as Mission Controller
TYRONNE L'HIRONDELLE as Databank Scientist
NORMA WICK as the Reporter
ALF HUMPHREYS as 2nd Controller
DAVID CAMERON as Young Scientist
FRENCH TICKNER as Preacher
PAUL DESROCHES as Paramedic
WRITTEN BY:
CHRIS CARTER
DIRECTED BY:
WILLIAM GRAHAM
Get the Episode
Preview. (In MOV format).
Go back to the Episode Guide. Previous
Episode (Ice). Next Episode (Fallen Angel).
Back to the main page.