Discovery sights “Flying Saucer”

From the Philadelphia Daily Telegraph

The crew of the NASA space shuttle Discovery sighted a UFO Wednesday night, while on a mission to facilitate repairs to the Hubble Space telescope. The UFO approached the shuttle and then left at an incredibly fast rate. Contact was made first visually by the crew, and then by radar. NASA is still investigating the origin of the UFO.

At approximately 10:15 PM EST, during the crew’s morning exercise routine, Astronaut Michael Sediway spotted the object through the starboard window. He then called to the other crewmembers, Flight Engineer Jeff Davis and Mission Commander Jim Nader, who verified what he saw. The crew then began tracking the UFO by radar. The UFO flew within two nautical miles of the Discovery, flashed a red light toward the ship, changed direction and flew away in a north by northeast direction (relative to the Discovery) for about 12 nautical miles, when it flew outside of the radar’s range. The entire encounter lasted less than a minute.. NORAD, NASA, and other space agencies were contacted, but they could not confirm the sighting.

It isn’t uncommon for NASA to make contact with UFOs (which are usually later identified as satellites or space junk); this is the first time a UFO was close enough to be made out by the naked human eye. According to Sediway, the object was flat and round in shape, resembling a “flying saucer”. Still, no markings or insignias could be made out by the naked eye. The craft, as well as the light, was not seen by any of the shuttle’s onboard cameras. The shuttle’s radar fixed it as 2 times the size of the Space Shuttle Discovery, that’s approximately 1 ½ times the size of a 767. Also, the craft traveled a length of 10 nautical miles in less than one minute, indicating that it was traveling at an incredible rate. Further, this is the first time a NASA astronaut has officially described a UFO as a “flying saucer”.

As to its origin, NASA is investigating. The only thing known is that it is not a NASA spacecraft. All other nations and space agencies capable of space travel were contacted.

The White House issued the following statement: “It is premature, pending a thorough NASA investigation, to comment or speculate about this sighting by the space shuttle Discovery.”

NASA spokesperson Ace Atwood added, “The White House wants to emphasize, as would we, that there is no reason to believe that the crew is in any danger or that we are in danger or in peril from this incident.”

The Discovery mission will go as planned. If seen again, they are ordered to track the object, but not to pursue.