My Conversations With An Astronaut and Proof Of Astronaut UFO Encounters

My Conversations With An Astronaut and Proof Of Astronaut UFO Encounters

by Bill Knell

While digging through some old files and cassette tapes with interviews, I recently came across something I had not written or spoken about in years. I felt it was time to, once again, share it with everyone.

In 1989 I was privileged to be part of a small panel of UFO researchers and scientists calling for a congressional inquiry into UFOs and the government's knowledge of their existence and origin. I was there to discuss the physical evidence I had found during my UFO investigations. Besides me, there was Budd Hopkins (author, noted Sculptor and Alien abductions expert), Stanton Friedman (author, Nuclear Physicist and UFO crashes researcher), Antonio Huneeus (journalist and Soviet UFO incidents researcher) and Dr Brian O'Leary (former NASA Astronaut and Physics Professor).

The press conference was held in New York City, lasted 90 minutes and was covered by national and international news media, as well as TV shows like Inside Edition, Hard Copy and A Current Affair. After it ended I made it an essential task to speak with Dr Brian O'Leary. He was the first and most impressive Astronaut I have spoken with over the years. He was kind enough to privately converse with me for close to an hour, allowing me to record it. He was as interested in my work, as I was in his. Overall, I feel like I came out ahead because of all he told me.

Dr O'Leary was part of a group of scientist-astronauts chosen for the Apollo Applications Program. With a Ph.D. in astronomy, he was the only planetary scientist in the NASA Astronaut Corps during the Apollo era. He also later had a distinguished academic career, including teaching positions at Cornell University, Princeton University, and the California Institute of Technology. In addition, he was also a consultant for NASA's Ames Research Center and a team leader on a study for space settlements. You think you have accomplished a lot until you meet him.

Dr O'Leary became interested in UFOs (UAPs) during his time at NASA. Prior to that his view was typical of most Astronomers. He believed that space was filled with interesting objects and little more. If there were other lifeforms out there, they were too distant to be contacted (if that was even possible), or to come here. When I asked Dr O'Leary what made him a believer in Aliens and the possibility they were visiting the Earth, he said, “During my time with NASA many of my colleagues spoke about UFOs, then called Flying Saucers, in whispers or, kind of… quiet conversations. At least a quarter of the Astronaut candidates I knew told me they had some kind of experience with things they couldn't explain associated with what we now call UFOs.”

You should know that Apollo astronaut James McDivitt was one of the many who saw UFOs in space, but he acknowledged it. Some of them also reported seeing UFOs while flying conventional aircrafts on Earth.

“The incident that really began the ultimate 180 I did was when I accidentally heard a Gemini Astronaut named Ed White speaking with one of my colleagues during my Astronaut training (White was also an engineer and Air Force Officer). The two knew each other. White said that during Gemini 4 he saw an object that looked like a bright star far from his spacecraft, then, just like a silvery disc as it came closer. It moved fast, he said, like a yo-yo on the return. The object came within a few hundred yards of their capsule, then it was gone. Almost like something that vanishes during a magic trick.”

Like most scientists and Astronauts I have met, Dr O'Leary was converted to a belief that Aliens exist and are visiting our planet by simply moving beyond the established group think on the subject, to examining the body of evidence for themselves because of an experience they had or heard about from an unimpeachable source. He went on to say, “Most scientists accept what they are told for fear of failing a class, or being denied a degree, or tenure. My turnaround occurred after I already accomplished my life's goals.” Sadly, Ed White perished with Gus Grissom and Roger Chaffee in his Apollo One capsule during a training accident when it caught fire in 1967. Dr O'Leary passed away in 2011.

On March 13, 1989, Space Shuttle mission STS-29 was launched. The mission ran from March 13-18, 1989. The crew was Commander Michael L. Coats, Pilot John E. Blaha, and Mission Specialists James F. Buchli, Robert C. Springer, and James P. Bagian. During the mission nothing unusual happened until a Ham Radio operator picked up a statement from John Blaha. He radioed, “Houston, this is Discovery. We still have the Alien spacecraft under observance.” That was all. It was a frequency the Ham Radio operator listened to during missions because it occasionally picked up chatter between NASA and the shuttle that was off the main channel.

I was fortunate enough to hear about it from a guy who heard me being interviewed on a talk radio show and shared a cassette copy with me and others in UFO research shortly after the STS-29 mission ended. Almost immediately, NASA said it was a hoax. I took the initiative of taking that recorded statement and another sample of Blaha speaking over the regular radio frequency for voice analysis. They were the same person speaking. I took things a step further by playing both in my seminars so people could judge for themselves. The voice and manner of speaking were identical and everyone agreed. Listen Blaha referred any inquiries or requests for an interview to NASA. They just kept brushing it off as a hoax hoping it would just go away. Today, Blaha refuses to comment on it or laughs it off. NASA and their cohorts can deny anything they like, but when credible witnesses and evidence prove them wrong, then, “Houston, we have a problem.”