In the first place, you are not a member of this classroom.

Homer Hickam Jr

Neither are you, Mr. Turner. [students chuckle]

Why don't you let the boy defend himself?

And in the second place, this rocket proves nothing. You've already admitted having lost a number of your rockets. You cannot prove conclusively that another one of them didn't start that fire.

Hickam

Yes, I can. [starts drawing diagram of rocket trajectory]

Are we to conclude, Mr. Hickam, that since leaving school, you've not only become an expert in rocket science, but in the field of trigonometry?

Hickam

I didn't say that I was a rock-

Obviously, you learned more in the coal mines than you did in high school. [students chuckle again]

Let the boy talk. Go ahead, Homer.

Hickam

Now, that fire was near Welch, just under three miles from our launch pad. And at the time of the fire, the best that we could do was 1.2 miles which is exactly where we found that rocket, Mr. Turner. See, Mr. Turner, that rocket fell for about 14 seconds, which means that it flew to an altitude of 3,000 feet according to the equation [writes on blackboard] "S" equals one-half "A" "T" squared. Where "S" is the altitude, "A" is the gravity constant or 32 and "T" is the time it took for that rocket to come back down. Velocity equals acceleration times time.

Get him, Homer, get him.

Hickam

Are you following this, Mr. Turner? [students laugh again]

All right, we're all duly impressed. But do you mind telling me, if you did not start that fire, who did?