Background: Project BLUE BOOK – Unidentified Flying Objects (UFOs)

Beginning in 1947, the United States Government officially launched an investigation into UFOs and assigned the United States Air Force to conduct formal studies. The longest investigation was called Project Blue Book and it was officially terminated in 1969.

U.S. Air Force Fact Sheet: Concerning UFOs and Project BLUE BOOK

The following is a copy of the US Air Force Fact Sheet distributed by Wright-Patterson AFB in January 1985.

UFOs & PROJECT BLUE BOOK

On December 17, 1969, the Secretary of the Air Force announced the termination of Project BLUE BOOK, the Air Force program for the investigation of UFOs.

From 1947 to 1969, a total of 12,618 sightings were reported to Project BLUE BOOK. Of these, 701 remain “Unidentified.” The project was headquartered at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, whose personnel no longer receive, document or investigate UFO reports.

The decision to discontinue UFO investigations was based on an evaluation of a report prepared by the University of Colorado entitled, “Scientific Study of Unidentified Flying Objects;” a review of the University of Colorado’s report by the National Academy of Sciences; past UFO studies and Air Force experience investigating UFO reports during the 40s, 50s, and 60s.

As a result of these investigations and studies and experience gained from investigating UFO reports since 1948, the conclusions of Project BLUE BOOK are:

(1) No UFO reported, investigated, and evaluated by the Air Force has ever given any indication of threat to our national security.

(2) There has been no evidence submitted to or discovered by the Air Force that sightings categorized as “unidentified” represent technological developments or principles beyond the range of present-day scientific knowledge.

(3) There has been no evidence indicating that sightings categorized as “unidentified” are extraterrestrial vehicles.

With the termination of Project BLUE BOOK, the Air Force regulations establishing and controlling the program for investigating and analyzing UFOs were rescinded. Documentation regarding the former BLUE BOOK investigation has been permanently transferred to the Military Reference Branch, National Archives and Records Administration, Washington, DC 20408, and is available for public review and analysis.

Since Project BLUE BOOK was closed, nothing has happened to indicate that the Air Force ought to resume investigating UFOS. Because of the considerable cost to the Air Force in the past, and the tight funding of Air Force needs today, there is no likelihood the Air Force will become involved with UFO investigation again.

There are a number of universities and professional scientific organizations, such as the American Association for the Advancement of Science, which have considered UFO phenomena during periodic meetings and seminars. In addition, a list of private organizations interested in aerial phenomena may be found in Gayle’s Encyclopedia of Associations (edition 8, vol-. 1, pp. 432-433). Such timely review of the situation by private groups ensures that sound evidence will not be overlooked by the scientific community.

A person calling the base to report a UFO is advised to contact a private or professional organization (as mentioned above) or to contact a local law enforcement agency if the caller feels his or her public safety is endangered.

Periodically, it is erroneously stated that the remains of extraterrestrial visitors are or have been stored at Wright-Patterson AFB. There are not now nor have there ever been, any extraterrestrial visitors or equipment on Wright-Patterson Air Force Base.

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The Condon Committee and the “Scientific Study of Unidentified Flying Objects”

As stated in the US Air Force fact sheet, the decision to discontinue UFO investigations was based on a report prepared by the University of Colorado entitled, “Scientific Study of Unidentified Flying Objects” and a review of the report by the National Academy of Sciences.

The National Capital Area Skeptics (NCAS), founded in 1987, is an independent, nonprofit, educational and scientific membership organization that promotes critical thinking and scientific understanding. They are advocates for science and reason, actively promoting the scientific method, rational inquiry, and education.

Over a 2-year period, from 1998 to 1999, NCAS Board Member Jim Giglio obtained copyright permission from the University of Colorado and lead a team of 10 NCAS members, who worked for several months to scan and proof the text of the 1465-page “Scientific Study of Unidentified Flying Objects,” and created web pages to put it on the NCAS.org web site. Also known as “The Condon Report,” it remains the largest (and arguably the only) truly scientific examination of the UFO issue ever conducted. This landmark reference, of value to all who are interested in UFO claims, had long been out of print and difficult to find. The entire reference is available online in the NCAS Electronic Library.

Link to the full report

http://files.ncas.org/condon/index.html

SCIENTIFIC STUDY OF UNIDENTIFIED FLYING OBJECTS

Conducted by the University of Colorado

Under contract No. 44620-67-C-0035 With the United States Air Force

Dr. Edward U. Condon, Scientific Director [1968]

Internet Edition Prepared by National Capital Area Skeptics (NCAS)

District of Columbia – Maryland – Virginia (USA) [ www.ncas.org ]

With the Permission of The Regents of the University of Colorado

Release 1 – January 1999

 

Courtesy NCAS: The Colorado Project

The Scientific Study of Unidentified Flying Objects was performed at the University of Colorado between 1966 and 1968, with physics Professor Edward U. Condon as its scientific director. It is frequently referred to as the “Condon Report” or the “Colorado Project Report”. To this day, the work carried out under Dr. Condon’s direction represents the largest single scientific project ever undertaken in relation to the UFO problem. In the opinion of a sizeable majority of mainstream scientists, its principal conclusion has stood the test of time:

Careful consideration of the record as it is available to us leads us to conclude that further extensive study of UFOs probably cannot be justified in the expectation that science will be advanced thereby.

It has been argued that this lack of contribution to science is due to the fact that very little scientific effort has been put on the subject. We do not agree. We feel that the reason that there has been very little scientific study of the subject is that those scientists who are most directly concerned, astronomers, atmospheric physicists, chemists, and psychologists, having had ample opportunity to look into the matter, have individually decided that UFO phenomena do not offer a fruitful field in which to look for major scientific discoveries. (From section I of the report)

Anyone familiar with the popular media and the Internet is likely aware that a very substantial fraction of the general public would disagree with this conclusion. Unfortunately, the virtual disappearance of the Condon report from general circulation makes it practically impossible for the public to evaluate the evidence that supports it, or to weigh the Colorado work against the claims of its critics.

To remedy this situation, the National Capital Area Skeptics is pleased to present, with the permission of the Regents of the University of Colorado, the NCAS Internet edition of Scientific Study of Unidentified Flying Objects. Our volunteer group, under the tireless direction of Jim Giglio, has worked for more than a year to bring this document to the web. We are confident that the effort will prove worthwhile, and that the document will prove useful in the rational evaluation of many aspects of the UFO issue.

Paul Jaffe
January 1999

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The Condon Report is more than 1400 pages long and consists of 59 case studies, more than 100 figures, 65 pages of photographs, and numerous tables.

Below is a sampling of what one will find in the report:

Cases with a natural explanation:

Upon first glance, so many photos appear to have merit. The task of the Condon Committee was to study these photos and eliminate what they could. The idea held by so many that photographs don’t lie had to be addressed. The study demonstrated how many times what the camera captured was a simple case of natural phenomena.

Other cases discussed were explained by meteors, stars Venus, Jupiter, aircraft lights and weather balloons, but with the absence of photographic evidence. Witness descriptions and drawings are provided when available.

Cases based on fabrication of evidence:

Fabrications/deliberate hoaxes were a big problem. Often, witnesses contacted did not want to speak any further with investigators. Sometimes, the witness would admit the fraud. The study presents through photographs how easy it is to create a convincing photographic record. The below two photos were deliberately fabricated by the authors of the study.

Cases based on defects of film or development issues:

UFOs that could not be identified:

The McMinnville, Oregon Case (Case 46)

Conclusion: This is one of the few UFO reports in which all factors investigated, geometric, psychological, and physical appear to be consistent with the assertion that an extraordinary flying object, silvery, metallic, disk-shaped, tens of meters in diameter, and evidently artificial, flew within sight of two witnesses. It cannot be said that the evidence positively rules out a fabrication, although there are some physical factors such as the accuracy of certain photometric measures of the original negatives which argue against a fabrication.

TO BE CONTINUED…

FINAL REPORT

Scientific Study of Unidentified Flying Objects

Conducted by the University of Colorado
Under contract to the United States Air Force

Dr. Edward U. Condon, Scientific Director
Daniel S. Gillmor, Editor

Copyright © 1968 by The Regents of The University of Colorado

Electronic edition © 1999 by National Capital Area Skeptics (NCAS)

The Final Report of the Scientific Study of Unidentified Flying Objects was originally copyrighted in 1968 by the Regents of the University of Colorado, a body corporate. It was subsequently published in reports of the United States Air Force and other governmental agencies and was published commercially by Bantam Books (currently out of print).