1965 · Earth orbit
Astronauts see company
When1963 – 1965
WhereEarth orbit
Backing3 independent
Witnesses1 named
Evidencedocuments
On Gemini 4 in June 1965, James McDivitt saw a white cylindrical object with 'big arms sticking out of it' near the capsule and took photos and film. He spent the rest of his life saying it was never identified. Mercury astronaut Gordon Cooper later said he had chased disc formations as a fighter pilot and that in 1957 a crew he supervised at Edwards AFB filmed a saucer landing on a dry lakebed. The film, he said, was sent to Washington and never seen again.
Evidence, in date order (3)
- Jul 1962NASA astronaut scientific debriefingsdocumentearlier astronaut observation records released in the same set war.gov: Astronaut scientific debriefings, 1962–63
- 1965Gemini 7 crew (Borman and Lovell)documentmission transcript and audio released with the astronaut UAP files war.gov: Gemini 7 transcript, 1965
- 1978Gordon Cooper (Mercury and Gemini astronaut)witnesshis own sightings and the Edwards landing film, set out in his 1978 letter for the UN Gordon Cooper on a UFO fleet, the landing footage and his letter to the UN
How plausible · High
McDivitt's object is in the released Gemini 4 debriefs, with other astronaut records alongside.
- ●●Access Direct observation or instruments.
- ●●No gain sought Nothing to gain.
- ●●Restraint Reported plainly.
- ●●Character record Trained professionals.
- ●●Checkable details check out Released official records.
- ●○Cost of speaking Named on record.
Plausibility weighs how well an account fits where secrecy hides the documents by design, so missing records never count against it. Strength measures what is documented. Assessed 2026-10-23.
On the record
- McDivitt's sighting is in the Gemini 4 mission debriefs.
- Cooper's 1978 letter to the Grenadian mission for a UN discussion of UFOs.
Claims
The Edwards landing footage and its disappearance into Washington.Edwards 1965firsthandSourced, unconfirmedGordon Cooper
war.gov files on this case (7)
PDFs (6)
PDFAstronaut Scientific Debriefings, 1962-1963NASA · Release 03 · 1962-1963
PDFGemini 4 Experiment Debriefing, 1967NASA · Release 03 · June 3-7, 1965
PDFGemini 7 Technical Debriefing, 1965NASA · Release 03 · December 19-21, 1965
PDFGemini 7 Transcript, 1965NASA · Release 01 · 12/5/65
PDFPreliminary Gemini 4 Crew Debriefing, Part I, 1965NASA · Release 03 · 6/9/65
PDFPreliminary Gemini 4 Crew Debriefing, Part II, 1965NASA · Release 03 · 6/9/65
Videos (1)
VideoGemini 7 Audio Excerpt, 1965NASA · Release 01 · 12/5/65
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