This is an absolutely fantastic movie that I recommend all the time and people think I'm joking but I'm not.

It's a bit low budget but the story is legit and Sheen does a pretty good job with it IMO.

There is some radio astronomy techno jargon which is surprisingly accurate as well and maybe that is why I like it so much.

Maybe Carpenter himself? Who knows, the fact is that it had a large return on capital, so it's a capitalist success.