NASA chief Jared Isaacman wants to stay 'open-minded' about UFOs: 'If it's aliens, I think NASA should have a seat at the table'
Could unidentified anomalous phenomena — a new catch-all term for unidentified objects in the sky, oceans or space — be pushing the United States towards another "Sputnik Moment"?
That's the belief of NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman, who compared the uptick in reported unidentified anomalous phenomena (UAP) sightings in recent years to the Cold War paranoia stirred up when the former Soviet Union launched Sputnik 1, the first artificial satellite to circle Earth in 1957.
Isaacman made the comments in a recent interview with Blake Burman, host of NewsNation's "The Hill" broadcast on Sept. 25 that touched upon a range of space-related issues. And one of those was probing the space agency chief about he thinks UAP might be.
Flight characteristics
Burman made note of pilot reports and videos released of objects with flight characteristics unlike anything previously seen.
"When you watch these videos," Burman asked Isaacman, "do you believe that anything that we've seen in any of this is potentially extraterrestrial. Is it military? What is it?"
Isaacman said that NASA has had "a seat at the table" since U.S. President Donald Trump earlier this year called for releasing Unidentified Flying Object (UFO) and UAP files. That call is now officially known as the Presidential Unsealing and Reporting System for UAP Encounters (PURSUE).
"My position going into every one of these: one, be open-minded. I mean, it is kind of our job to go out and try to answer the question 'are we alone?' And I said look, if it's aliens, I think NASA should have a seat at the table in this for sure," Isaacman said.
The NASA Administrator also said that, "if it's a Sputnik moment, we did really well the last time that happened. Which means, is this potentially red technology? Is this an adversary that's testing some next generation propulsion? It's certainly in the realm of the possible." (In military exercises, adversary forces are generally referred to as "red.")
TV host Burman then asked Isaacman, "but what does your gut tell you?"
"I would say I would lean toward it's either some phenomenon that can happen," Isaacman responded. "There are things that can happen just like natural phenomena that can be observed. I also think there's a good chance that there could be a Sputnik Moment that's happening and people are testing new stealthy or next generation type technologies," he said.
Our own backyard
Isaacman continued by noting that space missions have barely explored our own backyard.
"Do you know there are moons out there […] Saturn's moon Enceladus has an ocean. Europa has an ocean. It has complex chemistry. We couldn't tell you conclusively that there isn't life in our own backyard let alone the billions of other stars in the Milky Way galaxy, or the two trillion other galaxies out there. It's why NASA's mission is so important," Isaacman concluded.
Whistleblower woes
In a related UAP side saga, in early September, the U.S. Department of War issued a "legal waiver" for those wishing to disclose information regarding UAP, a hybrid term also linked to Unidentified Flying Objects (UFOs).
Military service members, civilian personnel, and contractors are purportedly green-lighted to disclose once protected information, such as under a non-disclosure agreement (NDA).
What's old news is that this waiver is not really new, said Robert Powell, an executive board member for the Scientific Coalition for UAP Studies in Austin, Texas. This same protection was provided to whistleblowers if they reported UAP information to the U.S. government's All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office (AARO).
"This was established via the 2023 National Defense Authorization Act, which stated that, 'Individuals with current or previous access to UAP-related information subject to a U.S. government NDA are authorized to provide that information to AARO representatives.' This waiver simply adds a second agency that can collect information," Powell told Space.
PURSUE and release
It is important to note that this is not permission for a whistleblower to talk to the press, a researcher, or the public," said Powell. "The same is true of this latest whistleblower waiver."
The new waiver states, "This waiver removes those barriers by explicitly authorizing covered disclosures to PURSUE representatives without triggering breach-of-agreement penalties or standard NDA violations."
"The NDA relaxation is only if the whistleblower reports their information to PURSUE representatives," said Powell.
"However, the waiver does not state how a whistleblower can identify the PURSUE representatives or how to reach them. So will anything change? It will take a year or two to determine if any whistleblower stories are made public or if a whistleblower realizes that an individual's story will go no farther than the PURSUE representative," Powell said.
He said/she said
Furthermore, Powell points out, this new waiver does not clearly waive criminal statutes, for example Espionage Act/unauthorized disclosure of classified information.
"How does a whistleblower know if their information violates criminal statutes versus civil statutes? The new waiver does not protect a whistleblower from an NDA with a civilian corporation," said Powell.
Let's assume someone comes forth and says that they know that there is an alien spacecraft being held at Edwards Air Force Base in California, said Powell. How is that claim verified?
"If it is not verified then there is little value in the efforts put forth by the whistleblower. To date, Congress has not seemed willing to use its subpoena powers to force a military branch to provide information, concluded Powell, and until Congress is willing to push the point and investigate claims, "it just remains 'he said, she said.'"
