Mercury Atlas 9 Audio Excerpt, May 15, 1963

Date: 15 May 1963
Place: Low Earth Orbit
Record: Pentagon file
Assessment: Not assessed
Evidence strength

467 case pages by decade; this one falls in 1960s with 49 othersAll cases

What was reported

Per the blurb, about 1 hour 41 minutes into the Mercury-Atlas 9 (Faith 7) flight, Gordon Cooper notes he sees 'John's fireflies,' referencing John Glenn's earlier Mercury-Atlas 6 term. NASA later determined the fireflies are frozen condensation separating from the spacecraft, appearing white/green-hued from sunlight reflection.

What officials concluded

Resolved

Frozen condensation separating from the spacecraft, reflecting sunlight.

Agency: NASA
Released in

Evidence profile

Sensors1 of 9

Yes: Visual
No: Infrared
No: Radar
No: Video
No: Photo
No: Film
No: Audio
No: Night vision
No: Other sensor

Witnessescount not stated

No: Civilian
No: Military aircrew
No: Military ground
No: Airline crew
No: Sensor operator
No: Law enforcement
No: Scientist
No: Astronaut
No: Intelligence official
Yes: Other

Shapenot stated

No: Light only
No: Orb or sphere
No: Disc
No: Triangle
No: Cylinder
No: Cube
No: Other shape

Effectsnone reported

No: Physiological
No: Physical trace
No: Electromagnetic
No: Sound
No: Silent

Why this rating Blurb-only; the 'fireflies' phenomenon is the most thoroughly explained recurring item in this batch (see NASA-UAP-D015's detailed scientific debrief), already resolved per the blurb.

As described in the file

Witnesses: L. Gordon Cooper Jr. (per blurb)
Sensors: Visual
Lights and colour: White, green-hued
Motion: Separating/drifting from the spacecraft

Pentagon files

AudioNASA-UAP-D010Release 2
Mercury Atlas 9 Audio Excerpt, May 15, 1963 (fireflies)
Open the original on dvidshub.net

What the file claims

Unverified
Cooper referred to 'John's fireflies' during MA-9, a phenomenon NASA attributes to frozen condensation reflecting sunlight off the spacecraft.