USG-UAP-D001, Congressional, White House, UFO-related Constituent Correspondence, 1998

Official Conclusion

No branch of the U.S. Government is currently involved with or responsible for investigating UFOs; NASA determined that all astronaut observations of unexplained phenomena could not be termed 'abnormal' in the space environment; Project Blue Book found no evidence that unidentified sightings represented extraterrestrial vehicles.

Official Description

This collection of documents, primarily from 1998, contains draft and final correspondence from the White House and the offices of members of Congress responding to constituent inquiries about Unidentified Flying Objects, or “UFOs.” These inquiries cover a diverse range of topics, including alleged UFO sightings by NASA astronauts, questions regarding the authenticity of photos collected during U.S. missions to Mars, alleged improper withholding of information by the U.S. Government, questions regarding the appropriateness of “UFO-related” governmental spending, and calls for congressional hearings regarding the nature and existence of “UFOs.” The official responses consistently state that, circa 1998, the U.S. Government is not aware of evidence supporting the existence of extraterrestrial technology, and that NASA does not actively investigate “UFOs.” The collection includes references to materials of both confirmed and unconfirmed authenticity, as provided by constituents, as well as references to historical, scientific literature addressing specific “UFO” sighting claims.

Key Findings

• →NASA's official 1998 position was that no branch of the U.S. Government was currently investigating UFOs and that Project Blue Book (terminated 1969) found no evidence of extraterrestrial vehicles among 12,618 reported sightings, 701 of which remained 'unidentified.'
• →James Oberg's 1976 SEARCH magazine article, enclosed as supporting material, systematically debunked major 'astronaut UFO' cases including McDivitt (Gemini-4), Conrad (Apollo-12), and others, attributing all sightings to spacecraft debris, optical effects, or misidentification.
• →Multiple constituents contacted the White House and Congress in 1998 requesting open congressional hearings on UFOs/extraterrestrial evidence, citing CSETI's Dr. Steven Greer and alleged classified government possession of alien spacecraft.
• →NASA informed Senator Grassley's office that astronaut UFO sightings had all been identified by photographs or NORAD records as launch vehicle material, water droplets, or other mundane objects, and that no unidentified materials were seen on lunar missions.
• →A constituent email to Senator Grassley described a 1997 NASA shuttle TV feed in which a light rising from Earth made a 90-degree turn before NASA allegedly cut the external camera feed, an event lasting less than one minute with no video record.

Extracted Entities