Speculation alert. I am going way out on a limb to talk about something I know nothing about. It has been said it could have been a dazzler that DM saw.
What is that? Great question.
en.m.wikipedia.org
Could this have been what DM mistook for a vacuum? Could this cause disorientation? Could someone who has VSS be interested in using an optical instrument like this to gain the upper hand? JMOSpeculatingO
The interweb told me about it and I thought what the heck? I am sure there are people who know about these things. I am just throwing this out there.