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UFO sightings in outer space by astronauts have been documented since the infancy of space exploration.

Sightings were alleged throughout Project Mercury, Project Gemini, and the Apollo program including a hoax perpetuated by science fiction writer Otto Binder claiming Apollo 11 Commander Neil Armstrong, had encountered UFOs during the mission.

In 2005 during a six-month mission on the International Space Station, astronaut Leroy Chiao witnessed lights from an object he described as an "upside-down check mark" during a spacewalk with cosmonaut, Salizhan Sharipov. Sharipov did not witness the UFO because he was facing the opposite direction. Chiao was skeptical that the object was a controlled extraterrestrial spacecraft, but did not rule out the possibility. In 2013, bright objects were spotted outside the ISS and was captured by NASA's live cam.

1965

Gemini 4 sighting

During the Gemini 4 mission, pilot Jim McDivitt spotted a white cylindrical object with a pole sticking out of it. He was unable to make a reference to distance or size of the object. McDivitt tried to take pictures of it, but he failed to capture what he claimed to have seen. NORAD radar also failed to verify his claim.

Gemini 7 bogey

Dr. Franklin Roach, based on his analysis of the transcripts of the crew's discussion, concluded in the book Scientific Study of Unidentified Flying Objects that there were visual sightings made by the astronauts while in orbit which were not adequately explained. James Oberg, based on his trajectory analysis of the Gemini 7 mission, describes the astronauts' comments about a "bogey" as referring to booster-associated debris, and not a reference to some sort of UFO.

1991

STS-48 incident

A video taken during mission STS-48 of Space Shuttle Discovery while in orbit on September 15, 1991 shows a flash of light and several objects that appear to be flying in an artificial or controlled fashion. NASA explained the objects as ice particles reacting to engine jets, while James Oberg claimed that the flash was from a thruster firing. Philip C. Plait discussed the issue in his book Bad Astronomy, agreeing with NASA.

Dr. Jack Kasher analyzed the movement of the objects in 1996, and found five arguments that the footage could not depict ice particles. However, Lan Fleming found discrepancies in the timestamps in a later version of the video first released by the NASA FOIA office in 1999, leaving some conclusions indeterminate. James Oberg presented a paper at Purdue University that disputed Kasher's five arguments and showed how illumination conditions and thruster firings were capable of producing the sequences in question. He has also posted data and telemetry records that support a prosaic explanation.

Lan Fleming analyzed the movements of the objects and the flash of light that preceded the abrupt change in the course of the objects, and concluded that the exhaust plume from one of the shuttle's reaction control system rockets could not have produced the flash of light. Mark J. Carlotto came to the conclusion that relatively brief firings of shuttle thruster rockets acting on nearby debris particles could not explain the prolonged periods of acceleration indicated by the curved paths of the unidentified objects. However, prolonged periods of smooth acceleration can be explained by atmospheric drag on microscopic ice particles, even though the atmosphere is extremely tenuous at the altitude of the orbiting shuttle. Carlotto also noted that at the end of the event, the shuttle's camera panned down, showing a number of objects moving below the shuttle, and one of the objects appeared to consist of three lobes arranged in a triangular pattern.

1996

STS-75 incident

There was an incident when the Space Shuttle Columbia was deploying a satellite connected to a 12 mile tether that broke. After that, hundreds of objects were captured on a camera circling the disconnected tether.

A model experiment was later conducted to see if an optical illusion could account for the sighting, and the experimenter believed the sighting was an optical illusion.

2001

STS-102 The Washington Sequence

A video broadcast during mission STS-102 of Space Shuttle Discovery while in orbit allegedly recorded on March 19, 2001 by Jeff Challender shows a flash of light and three objects which performed movements which included starting, stopping, accelerating, and making sudden angled turns. Lan Fleming compared the timing of the flash of light and a course change of one of the objects to the timing of shuttle thruster firings and concluded that the flash and the movement of the object could not have been caused by thruster firings.

Reception

Edgar Mitchell, the sixth man to walk on the moon, believes that extraterrestrials exist and have visited Earth before stating that he was "privileged enough to be in on the fact that we’ve been visited on this planet”, though he admits to have never sighted one himself.

Official analyst and reports have denied claims of extraterrestrial origins though some astronauts and witnesses believe there remain unexplained anomalies.

List of reported UFO sightings in outer space

This is a list of alleged sightings of unidentified flying objects or UFOs in outer space.

See also

• List of reported UFO sightings
• UFO
• Spaceship

References

1. ^ James Oberg (2012-08-25). "Debunking myths about Neil Armstrong". NBC News. Retrieved 2014-04-23.
2. Jenalyn Villamarin (2014-03-04). "UFO Sighting: Astronaut Leroy Chiao Finally Speaks Up on UFO Sighting During Spacewalk Back in 2005". International Business Times. Retrieved 2014-04-23.
3. Lee Speigel (2014-03-02). "Astronaut Leroy Chiao Opens Up About His 2005 UFO Sighting". Huffington Post. Retrieved 2014-04-23.
4. IBTimes Staff Reporter (2013-04-22). "UFO Sightings: Multiple Objects Spotted Near International Space Station". International Business Times. Retrieved 2014-04-23.
5. ^ Lee Speigel (March 27, 2012). "NASA UFO Files Revealed On Science Channel Special". Huffington Post. Retrieved 2014-04-25.
6. Condon, Edward Uhler; Gillmor, Daniel S, ed. (1969). "Chapter 6, section 9: Visual Observations Made by Astronauts, by Dr. Franklin Roach". Scientific Study of Unidentified Flying Objects. NY: Bantam Books. pp. 204–208. ISBN 9780552047470.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: editors list (link)
7. Oberg, James (September 15, 1995). "Gemini-7: Lessons and Legends (A 30th Anniversary Revisit) – "Formation Flying", "Lessons Learned" Later, and one "Bogey"".
8. Carlotto, Mark J. (Summer 2005). "Anomalous Phenomena in Space Shuttle Mission STS-80 Video" (PDF). New Frontiers in Science. 4 (4): 17–18.
9. Plait, Philip C. (2002). Bad Astronomy. John Wiley & Sons. ISBN 0-471-40976-6.
10. Kasher, Jack (1995–96). "Anomalous images on videotape from Space Shutle Flight STS-48: Examination of the ice-particle explanation". Journal of UFO Studies (JUFOS). 6. Center for UFO Studies (CUFOS).{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: date format (link)
11. Fleming, Lan (October 18, 2003). "Losing the Signal: Proof That Time Stamps on the STS-48 Video Released by NASA Are Phony". VGL.
12. Oberg, James (March 31, 1999). "The Great STS-48 Zig-Zag UFO" (PDF).
13. Oberg, James. "Proof of the Prosaic Nature of the STS-48 Zig-Zag Video".
14. Fleming, Lan (c. 2003). "Analysis of the Light Flash in the STS-48 Video" (PDF). VGL.
15. Fleming, Lan (Winter 2003). "A New Look at the Evidence Supporting a Prosaic Explanation of the STS-48 "UFO" Video". New Frontiers in Science. 2 (2).
16. Fleming, Lan (Fall 2003). "Examination of Object Trajectories in the STS-48 "UFO" Video". New Frontiers in Science. 3 (1).
17. ^ Fleming, Lan (c. 2009). "Space Shuttle Thrusters, Light Flashes, and Ice Particles: Some Insights from an Expert". VGL.
18. "Examination of Object Trajectories in the STS-48 "UFO" Video". VGL.
19. Carlotto, Mark J. (1995). "Digital Video Analysis of Anomalous Space Objects" (PDF). Journal of Scientific Exploration (JSE). 9 (1). Society for Scientific Exploration (SSE): 45–63.
20. "Analysis of an Anomalous Object in an STS-114 Video" (PDF). VGL.
21. Carlotto, Mark J. (1995). "Digital Video Analysis of Anomalous Space Objects" (PDF). Journal of Scientific Exploration (JSE). 9 (1). Society for Scientific Exploration (SSE): 62.
22. Evans, Will (January 2003). "Jeff Challender Tracked NASA Flights". The Sacramento Bee. Mutual UFO Network of Indiana (MUFON).
23. Challender, Jeff (2005). "STS-102, The Washington Sequence, Part One". Project P.R.O.V.E. keyhole publishing company. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |work= (help)
24. Challender, Jeff (2005). "STS-102, The Washington Sequence, Part Two". Project P.R.O.V.E. keyhole publishing company. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |work= (help)
25. ^ Fleming, Lan (2005). "Comparison of the Timing of a Course Change Made by an Object in a STS-102 Video with Orbiter Thruster Firings". VGL.
26. Mike Nizza (2008-07-24). "When an Astronaut Believes in Aliens". New York Times. Retrieved 2014-04-23.
27. Martin, Robert (1999-09-10). "Gordon Cooper: No Mercury UFO". Space.com.
28. Don Berliner (18 December 2008). UFO Briefing Document: The Best Available Evidence. Random House Publishing Group. pp. 35–. ISBN 978-0-307-49227-2.
29. Chris A. Rutkowski (20 September 2010). The Big Book of UFOs. Dundurn. pp. 165–. ISBN 978-1-77070-457-2.
30. Maurice Chatelain (1 September 1988). Our Cosmic Ancestors. Light Technology Publishing. pp. 25–. ISBN 978-1-62233-672-2.
31. William J. Birnes (6 January 2004). The UFO Magazine UFO Encyclopedia: The Most Compreshensive Single-Volume UFO Reference in Print. Simon and Schuster. pp. 192–. ISBN 978-0-7434-6674-5.
32. ^ William J. Birnes (15 December 2011). The Everything UFO Book: An investigation of sightings, cover-ups, and the quest for extraterrestial life. Adams Media. pp. 275–. ISBN 1-4405-2647-8.
33. ^ Sofge, Erik (December 18, 2009), Footage in the Sky: The Truth Behind NASA's 'UFO' Videos, Hearst Communication
34. Drishya Nair (2013-08-27). "Apollo 17 Captures Glowing UFO Above Moon". International Business Times. Retrieved 2014-04-23.
35. Robert Shapiro; Arthur Fanning (1998). Shining the Light V: Humanity Is Going to Make It!. Light Technology Publishing. pp. 311–. ISBN 978-1-891824-00-5.

Literature

• Adolf Bele: Misterij letećih tanjura, Zagreb, 1987.

• Spaceflight
• UFO sightings
• Unidentified flying objects