Documents / Official release
This 1998 NASA file holds UFO-related letters from constituents that were forwarded by members of Congress, together with NASA's handling records. Senator Olympia Snowe forwarded letters from Maine residents, including a 12-year-old who asked for Roswell documents and listed a number of reported sightings. Senator Charles Grassley forwarded a question about astronaut UFO sightings. NASA's reply says it has no UFO program and has not withheld anything. The reply enclosed a NASA fact sheet and James Oberg's article, which explains the Gemini-4 McDivitt object as the spacecraft's own booster.
From the source: Release of 2026-06-12 Released with redactions. 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.
arch,n•s has fl'\"l•aled ca..~es whcrl' UFO
rt•~c:i rchrr; withheld Cl•rtain informa
tion frl'cly gi,·1•n them by N:\SA
officials. infori:tation which would
have clearly explained m;my cases
which the authors wantt•d to appear
mysterious. So the time has come to
take a ne\\' look at this whote
phenomenon. What is the truth about
"astronaut li rOs"?
The first step in any research might
be with the Condon report. t:-iought
by many to have been commissioned
as a "whitewash" of the UFO
phenomenon. UFO enthusiasts are
accustomed to hearing harsh criticism
of almost all aspects of this study. but
my own objections to the "astronaut
UFO" section is from a novel angle.
My own research suggests that the
Condon investigator, far from being
the best man for the job, was clearly
unqualified to evaluate the difficult
cases. He was not familiar with the
terminology of space flight or the
basics of orbital flight trajectories, as I
am. As a result , he ignored possible
explanations while incorrecUy
eliminating other possible answers.
In other words, far from being a
coverup, this chapter of the Condon
report is superficial. It is entirely
worthless as an endorsement of the
unexplained and unexplainable nature
of several astronaut sightings which I
will discuss. I can prove this remark
able assertion to any investigator
serious enough to consider all the
evidence, much of which has never
before been published.
The Condon report does give some
details about the environment of
astronaut sightings, but even here does
not go far enough. More stress needs
to be put on the visual and photo
graphic limitations of space flight: the
windows are far smaller than popularly
realized (about half the size of this
open magazine at arm's length), and
for many years were subject to
obscuration and smudging by seepage
o( sealant and by contamination by
rocket fuel. At various p_oints in the
fligh t, the spacecraft was surrounded
by cl ouds of d~bris (leaking fuel,
dumped water, chipping paint, fraying
insulation, ejected equipment. and
more). while the inside of the weight•
less cabin was usually plagued with
fl oating particles of dust and debris
which often passed in front of camt!ras
pointing out windows. Other satellites
sho uld have been visible, since few
people realize that on any clear night
~ - -+s _ _ ,., - ,e-- ....... ,., ,+- ............ ,., _
all
for
,., • .., .... ...... -«•
Dc:sμitc the pt!r.~istl'11t rumo rs of '.,;ccrct space p ict'"rcs •.
pho /nJ!rupl1s tahl'll by .V,\S.-\ i11 space arc i11 tlie public domui11. That is.
any p ict ure tuhc:,: by 1.111 astro11a111 or 011 earth resource, satellite is
ai:ailablr. to anyo11c who wants to pay fur i t.
There are foi: r tiers of plwto,;:-:iph Ji·cilcbility. but two a:-e rescri:ed
for 11ewsme11 only The ~/ructurc is us f olluws:
A . The most p o pular space photographs /alien arc lithographed for
general free di.,;tributi CJ11 to anyone who asr.s for them. Seueral dozen
new pho tographs are added to this list eucry year. Cost to .VAS,\ is a
few ce11ts per print.
8 . The N.-lS.-l Public Information Offices at uarious centers and at
headquarters prints gfossy photographs of t imely news stories
distribution tu the news media. Hundreds of these photographs are
released euery year. but only crrtified newsmen can receiue them for
~~ .
C. .\!any thousands of other photographs and drawi11gs may be of
interest to the news media and arc therefore fifad at public i11formatio11
offices. but stock copies are not kept. Each request must be filled by
actual photo lab orders. which co:;ts NASA abo ut one dollar per
photograph.
D. A,1y citizen who wants copies of any photograph listed in 'B' or
'C' aboue con get it, but it is entirely reasonable for NASA to expect
him t o pay for it. News bureau photographs. along with all other (light
photography-stills and mouies-can be ordered from Bara Studios, P.O.
Box 486, Bladensburg, MD 20710. The cost of any photograph ordered
by st ock number is seueral dollars apiece. A ny cross-referencing or
researching will also cost money. . •
Some ground photographs of astronaut accidents, au topsies, and
medical examinations are not releasable for publication. On seueral
Gemini {lights, special photographic experiments were undertaken for
the DoD, but these inuolued special cameras and exclusiuely ear th
surface targe{s. In neither case would it be possible to withhold any
hypothetical UFO photographs from the public.
Astronaut photographs are indexed by a code which specifies year
taken and frame number. S66-12387, for example, would be a NASA
photo (not necessarily a space photo) taken in 1966. Beginning w i th
Apollo, space photos were also indexed w ith a mission code, r oll
number and frame number (neither of which were repeated on later
{lights). For example, ASJ 6·108-13005 u•as taken on the Apollo-16
{light, with the 108th roll of the Apollo project (liglit film. Mouie film
is indexed per magazine with similar numbers.
Euery photograph euer taken by American astronauts for N ASA is
on file w ith Bara Studios and can be obtained by anyone wifling to pay
for them. Writers who produce 'secret NASA UFO photographs' which
they claim are being hidden from the American public are doing a gross
disseruice to one of the most open and cooperatiue public informat ion
offices of any federal agency.
an o bserver on Earth can see a number
of orbiting objects with only half an
effort. Out or this "backg?ound noise",
can we separate the "signal" which
will indicate the existence of UFOs?
These problems all are of interest to
space officials, and numerous studies
have been made. Fragments might
imply a structural failure (a rescue ship
was almost sent to Skylab-3 because of
the crew's observation of leaking fuel
droplets). Debris inside t!1e cabin can
irritate eyes and damage the electronic
gear behind the instrument panels.
Other satellites might be dangerous
due to the potential of coll ision o r
they might be of intelligence interest if
they are frcm somt! other nation.
Therefore, any mysterious space
sighting might as easily be vital for
39
NASA to know about as it might be a
true UFO: Careful investigations are
called for.
What are some of the most famous
cases, and what are the facts? Interpre
tations may differ, but productive
thinking can only be done when all the
information is at hand. Some o( It is
hard to find or understand; other
information, available to some
researchers, may have been deliberate
ly withheld. ·some classical cases may
consist of made-up fantasies. You can
soon judge for yourself.
Has there been any attempt to
"cover up" space sightings (a common
plea when no t!Vidence is available,
even in this age of sieve-like
government secrecy)? Are astronauts
"muzzled" about UFOs? Has fifteen Official release, from the pursue collection. The PDF is mirrored here; the original link is above. 86 pages are in the text index: search them above, or from the library's search.