Astronaut Scientific Debriefings, 1962–1963 — NASA File
This file contains memoranda, correspondence, reports, and other materials relating to contemporary scientific interest in investigating the nature of luminous phenomena reported by astronauts John Glenn and Walter Schirra during spaceflight. This collection includes transcripts from NASA…
Incident Overview
In 1962–1963, in an undisclosed location, NASA preserved a documentary record that was declassified and published on June 12, 2026 as part of the third tranche of the Department of War’s Presidential Unsealing and Reporting System for UAP Encounters (PURSUE).
What the government released
This file contains memoranda, correspondence, reports, and other materials relating to contemporary scientific interest in investigating the nature of luminous phenomena reported by astronauts John Glenn and Walter Schirra during spaceflight. This collection includes transcripts from NASA interviews and debriefings with both astronauts regarding those observations. It also contains details relating to scientific observations of atmospheric phenomena, including brief descriptions of luminous particles, experiences while aboard spacecraft, and circa 1955 theoretical analysis of meteoric particles entering the atmosphere. Pages 34-35, 55-56, 57-63, 64-113, and 122-127 feature content relevant to the PURSUE initiative.
Primary-source excerpt
Drawn directly from the released document: “Glenn, q7coi i i_erm presented a ~ detailed and factual description of his observations during the MA’ 6 flight. He answered rather well the many and varied questions presented to him during the limited interview. ~ interest aad ~ further explorationJ 1further re, it is evident that the astronaut can perform various scien ~ tific experiments has the aeiil y capability of doing com act so despite the many limitations imposed by the. Glenn described the velocity field of ii.- QM~ the luminous particles, their brightness 8 1 i. outside the in shadow of the spacecvaft, the coloring aBa sunlight and their shape. For the velocity”.
Status of the case
Records released under the PURSUE program are designated unresolved by the All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office, which means the federal government has not concluded the events were anomalous, has not concluded they were conventional, and has not ruled out either possibility. Where AARO has offered a likely source for an item — an infrared sensor aboard a military aircraft, a commercial camera, or a known optical effect — that attribution is the agency’s working assessment rather than a final determination. Conventional candidates such as drones, balloons, flares, satellites, parallax and forced-perspective artifacts, and ordinary aircraft remain on the table for any unresolved case absent better data than a single sensor pass or a witness recollection.