Departamento of Defesa of Estados Unidos released this Friday (8) classified files on unidentified phenomena recorded by astronauts on the Skylab missions between 1973 and 1974. The technical reports include observations of bright flashes, reddish objects in orbit and flashing lights seen outside the ship during operations of the first American space station.
Astronauts described distinct visual events on different missions, varying in pattern and intensity. The release of these documents marks a step towards transparency about space phenomena that have remained classified for decades.
Frequent light Clarões on mission Skylab 2
Durante the Skylab 2 mission, astronauts Joseph Kerwin, Charles Conrad and Paul Weitz reported frequent occurrence of flashes of light. The phenomenon was noticed mainly at night, especially when the astronauts were resting with their eyes closed but awake.
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Joseph Kerwin documented in an official report: “We saw flashes of light. Acho we all saw them. Eu saw them most often when he was in bed at night, with his eyes closed but naturally awake. Eles tended to wax and wane in frequency.”
The flashes showed significant variations in shape and visual presentation. Apareciam as:
- Pontos isolated luminous
- Feixes light at different angles
- Efeitos solar flare-like visuals
- Flashes in sequence with variable frequency
The astronauts hypothesized that part of the phenomena could be related to the passage of cosmic particles through the eyeball, a scientific explanation that remains under analysis.
Extremely bright reddish Objeto on Skylab 3
The Skylab 3 mission produced reports of a distinct visual phenomenon: an extremely bright reddish object observed near the space station. Astronauts Alan Bean, Owen Garriott and Jack Lousma tracked the object for about five to ten minutes before sunset.
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Owen Garriott described the observation: “We saw that satellite about a week before the water landing. Foi one of the most unusual things we saw.” Segundo the report, the object had an intense red hue and appeared to be in an orbit very similar to that of Skylab itself.
The light intensity caught the crew’s particular attention. Garriott stated elsewhere in the document: “It was much brighter than Júpiter or any other planet.” The brightness was not constant — it varied at regular intervals, suggesting a rotational movement that the astronauts were able to observe and document.
Características techniques of the observed phenomena
The records reveal a consistent pattern in observations: multiple astronauts on different missions reported similar events, without prior communication between the crews. The phenomena presented properties that defied immediate explanations based on known objects.
The technical documentation included measurements of relative brightness, duration of observations, estimated orbital position and luminous behavior over time. The astronauts used planetary references — comparison with Júpiter and other celestial bodies — to establish a standard of intensity in official reports.
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The regular variation in the object’s brightness observed in Skylab 3 suggested controlled rotational movement. The astronauts were unable to fully explain the nature of the object through astronomical phenomena known at that time, nor did they associate the events with equipment failures on the spacecraft.
File Release Contexto
The release of these records comes after years of requests for public access to information about unidentified phenomena. Defesa’s Departamento classified this data as “unpublished files”, indicating that it had not previously been made available in an open public format.
Documents remain subject to ongoing scientific analysis. Agências space and research institutions await technical review of the original reports to determine whether new methodologies or modern analysis technologies can offer alternative explanations to phenomena cataloged more than fifty years ago.