Government Studies
key articles, documents & resources
Symposium on UFOs: Hearings before the U.S. House Committee on Science and Astronautics, 1968
Proceedings of the symposium convened by the House Committee on Science and Aeronautics in 1968. Participants included J. Allen Hynek, Dr. James MacDonald, Carl Sagan, as well as prepared statements by Stanton Friedman and UFO skeptic Donald Menzel.
other articles & documents
1968 Congressional Hearings: Group Discussion with Symposium Participants
U.S. House Committee on Science and Astronautics - Symposium on UFOs, 1968
Group discussion among the symposium participants at the 1968 hearings before the U.S. House Committee on Science and Astronautics.
1968 Congressional Hearings: Prepared Statement by Dr. Donald H. Menzel (UFO skeptic)
Dr. Donald H. Menzel, U.S. House Committee on Science and Astronautics - Symposium on UFOs, 1968
Prepared statement by Dr. Donald H. Menzel (UFO skeptic) at the 1968 hearings before the U.S. House Committee on Science and Astronautics.
1968 Congressional Hearings: Prepared Statement by Dr. Frank B. Salisbury
Dr. Frank B. Salisbury, U.S. House Committee on Science and Astronautics - Symposium on UFOs, 1968
Prepared statement by Dr. Frank B. Salisbury at the 1968 hearings before the U.S. House Committee on Science and Astronautics.
1968 Congressional Hearings: Prepared Statement by Dr. Garry C. Henderson
Dr. Garry C. Henderson, U.S. House Committee on Science and Astronautics - Symposium on UFOs, 1968
Prepared statement by Dr. Garry C. Henderson at the 1968 hearings before the U.S. House Committee on Science and Astronautics.
1968 Congressional Hearings: Prepared Statement by Dr. R. Leo Sprinkle
Dr. R. Leo Sprinkle, U.S. House Committee on Science and Astronautics - Symposium on UFOs, 1968
Prepared statement by Dr. R. Leo Sprinkle at the 1968 hearings before the U.S. House Committee on Science and Astronautics.
1968 Congressional Hearings: Prepared Statement by Dr. Robert M. L. Baker, Jr.
Dr. Robert M. L. Baker, Jr., U.S. House Committee on Science and Astronautics - Symposium on UFOs, 1968
Prepared statement by Dr. Robert M. L. Baker, Jr. at the 1968 hearings before the U.S. House Committee on Science and Astronautics.
1968 Congressional Hearings: Prepared Statement by Dr. Roger N. Shepard (psychologist)
Dr. Roger N. Shepard, U.S. House Committee on Science and Astronautics - Symposium on UFOs, 1968
Prepared statement by Dr. Roger N. Shepard at the 1968 hearings before the U.S. House Committee on Science and Astronautics.
1968 Congressional Hearings: Prepared Statement by Stanton T. Friedman
Stanton T. Friedman, U.S. House Committee on Science and Astronautics - Symposium on UFOs, 1968
Prepared statement by Stanton T. Friedman at the 1968 hearings before the U.S. House Committee on Science and Astronautics.
1968 Congressional Hearings: Statement by Dr. Carl Sagan
Dr. Carl Sagan, U.S. House Committee on Science and Astronautics - Symposium on UFOs, 1968
Complete statement by Carl Sagan at the 1968 hearings before the U.S. House Committee on Science and Astronautics. R
1968 Congressional Hearings: Statement by Dr. J. A. Harder (regarding UFO propulsion)
Dr. J. A. Harder, U.S. House Committee on Science and Astronautics - Symposium on UFOs, 1968
Complete statement by Dr. J. A. Harder at the 1968 hearings before the U.S. House Committee on Science and Astronautics. Dr. Harder had been asked to comment on the problem of UFO propulsion, and what potential benefits there might be to the aerospace programs from the study of UFO phenomena. R
1968 Congressional Hearings: Statement by Dr. J. Allen Hynek
Dr. J. Allen Hynek, U.S. House Committee on Science and Astronautics - Symposium on UFOs, 1968
Complete statement by Dr. J. Allen Hynek at the 1968 hearings before the U.S. House Committee on Science and Astronautics. R
1968 Congressional Hearings: Statement by Dr. Robert L. Hall (Sociologist)
Dr. Robert L. Hall, U.S. House Committee on Science and Astronautics - Symposium on UFOs, 1968
Complete statement by Dr. Robert L. Hall at the 1968 hearings before the U.S. House Committee on Science and Astronautics. R
A Die-Hard Issue: CIA's Role in the Study of UFOs, 1947-90
Gerald K. Haines, CIA, Studies in Intelligence, Vol 1 No 1 1997
In late 1993, after being pressured by UFOlogists for the release of additional CIA information on UFOs, (3) DCI R. James Woolsey ordered another review of all Agency files on UFOs. Using CIA records compiled from that review, this study traces CIA interest and involvement in the UFO controversy from the late 1940s to 1990. It chronologically examines the Agency's efforts to solve the mystery of UFOs, its programs that had an impact on UFO sightings, and its attempts to conceal CIA involvement in the entire UFO issue. What emerges from this examination is that, while Agency concern over UFOs was substantial until the early 1950s, CIA has since paid only limited and peripheral attention to the phenomena R
Congressional Hearings on UFOs
Don Berliner, UFO Briefing Document
Only two formal hearings on UFOs have ever been held. Here is a brief overview of those congressional hearings. R
Official UFO Enquiries
Space 2001
Over the years the UFO enigma has given rise to numerous official inquiries. Ostensibly these have attempted to search out the truth of the phenomenon as open mindedly as possible. R
Official UFO Investigations
The Majestic Documents website (Robert Wood, Ryan Wood)
Overview of major, official government UFO investigations and studies, many secret and classified. R
Official UFO Study Programs in Foreign Countries
Condon Report, Chapter 3
This chapter from the Condon Report discusses official UFO programs in countries other than the United States. R
Project Grudge and Project Blue Book
Loy Lawhon, About.com
Overviews of Project Grudge and Project Bluebook R
Project Sign
Loy Lawhon
There is reliable testimony that in August, 1948, the Technical Intelligence Division at Wright-Patterson and Project Sign, decided to make a formal Estimate of the Situation. The Estimate was a top secret document that contained unexplained sightings by pilots, scientists, and other reliable witnesses. The report concluded that UFOs were of extraterrestrial origin. R
Special Report of the USAF Scientific Advisory Board Ad Hoc Committee to Review Project 'Blue Book' (The 1966 O'Brien Committee Report)
U.S. Air Force / reprinted by CUFON
Most people with even a passing interest in UFO have heard of the 1953 CIA "Robertson Panel." Fewer people have heard of the 1966 "USAF Scientific Advisory Board Ad Hoc Committee to Review 'Project Blue Book'" commonly known as the O'Brien Committee. Fewer still have read the "Special Report" of the O'Brien Committee, and understand its place in UFO history.
Statement on UFOs by James MacDonald to the House Committee on Science and Astronautics, 1968 (PDF)
James E. McDonald, 1968
Prepared statement submitted to the House Committee on Science and Astronautics at July 29, 1968, Symposium on Unidentified Flying Objects, Washington, D.C., by James E. McDonald.
The CIA, Official History, and You: A Study of Gerald Haines and UFOs
Richard M. Dolan, UFO Magazine, Dec/Jan. 2001
In the version we were allowed to read, Haines made two basic points. The first was that, although the CIA was concerned about UFOs until the early 1950s, it has since "paid only limited and peripheral attention to the phenomena." Second, Haines stated that from the mid-1950s until the end of the 1960s, "more than half" of alleged UFO sightings in the United States were actually of classified and/or experimental aircraft such as the U-2 or SR-71 spy planes.
The CIA's UFO History
Mark Rodeghier, CUFOS (Center for UFO Studies)
After the Cold War ended, the culture of secrecy and the operational style of the CIA began to change. Its director appeared on a radio talk show, and it became possible for citizens to pressure the CIA in ways unheard of during that earlier era. Ufology has been a beneficiary of these changes.
What Our Air Force Found Out About UFOs
Captain Edward J. Ruppelt, USAF, True Magazine book-length feature
From 1951 to 1953 Mr. Ruppelt was in charge of Project Blue Book, the official Air force investigation of Unidentified Flying Objects. This is what he learned from them.
websites & organizations
Symposium on UFOs: Hearings before the U.S. House Committee on Science and Astronautics, 1968
Proceedings of the symposium convened by the House Committee on Science and Aeronautics in 1968. Participants included J. Allen Hynek, Dr. James MacDonald, Carl Sagan, as well as prepared statements by Stanton Friedman and UFO skeptic Donald Menzel.
