Documents / FOIA release
This document is the National Academy of Sciences panel review of the University of Colorado report on unidentified flying objects, copyrighted 1969 and filed as an attachment in an Office of the Secretary of Defense release. The panel, chaired by Gerald M. Clemence, judged the study's scope adequate and its methodology sound. It concurred that further extensive UFO study is not justified and that extraterrestrial visitation is the least likely explanation. A directory listing of UFO organizations such as NICAP and APRO is appended.
“University of Colorado”3 pages
or man-made ;:ilenomena, twelve provided insufficient data for analysis, and seven were considered to be possible fabrications; none proved to be "real objects with high strangeness.") Technically trained personnel were utilized by the University. The University group included a sub-group on field investigations of UFO reports; their narration and interpretations of cases are reasonable and adequate. Leading groups were engaged under contract for specialized work -- e.g., Stanford Research Institute on radar anomalies and a subsidiary of the Raytheon Corporation for photogrammetric analyses. Divergent views of those few scientists who have looked into UFOs were taken into account. The history of the subject was also surveyed, including the experiences in some other nations. Finally, extensive use was made of many specialists in various public and private laboratories. The Report makes clear that with the best means at our disposal, positive correlation of all UFO reports with identifiable, known phenomena is not possible. No study, past, current or future, can provide the basis for stating categorically that a familiar phenomenon will necessarily be linkable to every sighting. The Report is free of dogmatism on this matter. It is also clear, as one goes through the descriptions of UFO sightings, whether in the Report or in other literature, that while some incidents have no positive identification with familiar phenomena, they also have no positive identification with extraterrestrial visitors or artifacts. We think the methodology and approach were well chosen, in accordance with accepted standards of scientific investigation. III. FINDINGS The study concludes (a) that about 90 percent of all UFO reports prove to be quite plausibly related to ordinary phenomena, (b) that little if anything has come from the study of UFOs in the past 21 years that has added to scientific knowledge, and (c) that further extensive study of·UFO sightings is not justified in the expectation that science will be advanced thereby. At the same time it is emphasized in the Report that (c) is an opinion based on evidence now available. The Report's findings and evaluations -- essentially eight !n number, presented in its first section -- are concerned with official secrecy on UFOs, UFOs as a possible defense hazard, the future governmental handling of UFO-sighting reports, and five of them relate to the question of what if any further investigation of UFOs appear warranted in the light of the study. We paraphrase and summarize these findings and· evaluations be:ow, appending our comments. 1. On secrecy. Is the subject "shrouded in official secrecy"? The study found no basis for this contention. We accept.this finding of the study. Attachment 2, pg 7
FOIA release, from the osd collection. The PDF is mirrored here; the original link is above. 8 pages are in the text index: search them above, or from the library's search.