‘A bogey… a brilliant body with trillions of particles’: FBI files reveal Gemini 7 astronauts’ chilling 1965 UFO sighting
The records, released as part of the Trump administration’s wider disclosure of UFO-related material, contain astronaut transcripts, military assessments and intelligence summaries linked to unidentified aerial phenomena (UAPs).
Pentagon UFO Release Revives Historic Gemini 7 Mystery
A newly declassified set of Pentagon and FBI files has revived one of the most debated incidents from the early years of human spaceflight — the moment Gemini 7 astronauts Frank Borman and Jim Lovell reported seeing a mysterious object while orbiting Earth in December 1965. The records, released as part of the Trump administration’s wider disclosure of UFO-related material, contain astronaut transcripts, military assessments and intelligence summaries linked to unidentified aerial phenomena (UAPs). Among the files are references to unexplained sightings observed by astronauts, military personnel and radar systems during the Cold War era. One document described 1965 as “the year of the greatest number of UFO sightings” reported across the world.
‘We Have a Bogey at Ten O’Clock High’
The incident occurred during Gemini 7, NASA’s fourth crewed Gemini mission and only the 10th human spaceflight in history. Launched on December 4, 1965, Borman and Lovell spent 14 days in orbit and completed 206 revolutions around Earth.
During the mission, Borman unexpectedly radioed Houston control with the words: “We have a bogey at ten o’clock high.”
Mission control immediately responded: “Gemini-7, is that the booster or is that a natural sighting?”
Borman clarified: “We have debris up here — this is an actual sighting.”
‘A Brilliant Body’ Surrounded by Particles
As the conversation continued, Lovell described a strange object visible against space.
“I have the booster on my side,” he said. “It’s a brilliant body in the sun against a black background with trillions of particles on it.”
The object was “slowly tumbling”
The astronauts also reported seeing “hundreds of little particles” travelling several miles away from the spacecraft. According to the transcript, the object appeared to be “slowly tumbling” ahead of Gemini 7.
A later mission control note stated that references in the transmission concerned “the third and unidentified object” repeatedly referred to as “a bogey”.
Files Detail Wider UFO Concerns During 1965
This sighting occurred on December 5, 1965. The files also contained an audio tape of the conversation between Borman and NASA mission control in Houston, including dialogues containing Borman's initial report, as well as additional comments by Astronaut Lovell. The wider FBI files released this week summarised multiple reports involving metallic craft capable of silent hovering, sudden acceleration and electromagnetic interference. Investigators documented incidents reported by military crews, civilians and foreign intelligence agencies.
“eight-pointed star” object
The Pentagon archive also included infrared imagery of an unexplained “eight-pointed star” object and reports of unusual flashes witnessed during Apollo-era missions. Despite renewed public interest, the newly released files do not conclude that the Gemini 7 object was extraterrestrial. The records instead document how officials investigated unexplained sightings during a period when Cold War tensions and rapid advances in aerospace technology intensified concerns over unidentified objects in the skies and beyond Earth’s atmosphere.
)
)
)
)
)