PURSUE archive · catalogue card
NASA-UAP-D030
STS-80 Unidentified Object Image 1, 1996
This card reproduces what the official catalogue publishes. Our own analysis (cross-checked sources, timeline and hypotheses) will come when its turn arrives in the weekly review.
- Agency
- NASA
- Incident date
- 1996As the catalogue writes it: “1996” · “12/21/72”
- Place
- TexasOff the globe: Low Earth orbitAs the catalogue writes it: “Low-Earth Orbit” · “Texas”See the area on the globe →
- Published in PURSUE
- Jul 10, 2026
- Records
- 5 records · Image + Audio
01 Official description
During STS-80, between November 19 and December 7, 1996, astronauts aboard Space Shuttle Columbia captured a series of three images of an unidentified object in low-Earth orbit. In the first photograph, the object is visible near the center of the frame, to the right of the limb of the Earth.
02 Catalogue records · 5
NASA-UAP-D030 · Image · NASA · Jul 10, 2026 · Main record
STS-80 Unidentified Object Image 1, 1996
1996 · Low-Earth Orbit
NASA-UAP-D028 · Audio · NASA · Jul 10, 2026
Apollo 17 Crew Medical Debriefing, 1972
12/21/72 · Texas
DVIDS · broken link in the catalogue (checked Oct 5, 2026)
Official description
This file contains segment 1 of 2 of the Apollo 17 post-mission medical debriefing at the Manned Spacecraft Center (now Johnson Space Center), Houston, Texas. In the recording, crew members discuss the “light flash phenomena,” a then novel, now well-documented biological effect where high-energy cosmic rays pass through the eye and strike the retina, causing the perception of light streaks or flashes. Two of the three crew members reported observing these flashes at various points during the mission, including in lunar orbit and while on the lunar surface. The debriefing continues in the next file (NASA-UAP-D029).
NASA-UAP-D029 · Audio · NASA · Jul 10, 2026
Apollo 17 Crew Medical Debriefing (Continued), 1972
12/21/72 · Texas
DVIDS · broken link in the catalogue (checked Oct 5, 2026)
Official description
This file contains segment 2 of 2 of the Apollo 17 post-mission medical debriefing at the Manned Spacecraft Center (now Johnson Space Center), Houston, Texas. In this continued segment, crew members and debriefers further discuss the “light flash phenomena,” a then novel, now well-documented biological effect where high-energy cosmic rays pass through the eye and strike the retina, causing the perception of light streaks or flashes. Two of the three crew members reported observing these flashes at various points during the mission, including in lunar orbit and while on the lunar surface.
NASA-UAP-D031 · Image · NASA · Jul 10, 2026
STS-80 Unidentified Object Image 2, 1996
1996 · Low-Earth Orbit
Official description
During STS-80, between November 19 and December 7, 1996, astronauts aboard Space Shuttle Columbia captured a series of three images of an unidentified object in low-Earth orbit. In the second photograph, the object is visible near the center of the frame, to the right of the limb of the Earth. It appears to have rotated or tumbled about its major axis, which is consistent with the behavior of a free-floating object.
NASA-UAP-D032 · Image · NASA · Jul 10, 2026
STS-80 Unidentified Object Image 3, 1996
1996 · Low-Earth Orbit
Official description
During STS-80, between November 19 and December 7, 1996, astronauts aboard Space Shuttle Columbia captured a series of three images of an unidentified object in low-Earth orbit. In the third photograph, the object is visible near the center of the frame, superimposed against the Earth. It appears to have continued along a trajectory passing between Columbia and the Earth.
03 Related cases
Other catalogue cards from the same area or the same decade.
04 Sources
- [1]
Record · U.S. Department of War
Presidential Unsealing and Reporting System for UAP Encounters (PURSUE)
Card, descriptions and comments: PURSUE catalogue, U.S. Department of War. The files are not hosted here; they open on their official site.
Checked on Oct 4, 2026 · Open the original ↗
May contain errors by the AI and the editor · always check the official source.