Documents / Report
This is the final report of the Scientific Study of Unidentified Flying Objects, conducted by the University of Colorado under Air Force contract F44620-67-C-0035, with Edward U. Condon as scientific director and Daniel S. Gillmor as editor. It was submitted to the National Academy of Sciences on 15 November 1968 for review. The report includes field studies, photographic and radar analyses, case studies, historical chapters and appendices such as the Robertson Panel report and the Twining letter.
subject is ~!e Are No!; Alone by Walter Sullivan (1964). More advanced
discussions Clrc Intel'Ht:ellap (·or'1!mA.rLtc~at1:0?'lJ a collection of papers edited
bv A. (;. W. Cameron (1963), and lil,telZigeYit Ltfe in the Universe;
(Shk lovski i ami Sagan, l:)l1b). Thw; far we have no observat50nal evidence
whatever on the question, so therefore it remains open. An early un-
pub lished dis CllSS ion is a let tel' of 13 December 1948 of J. E. Lipp to
Gen. Donald Putt (Appendix D -j. This letter is Appendix D of the
I'roject Sign report d:ltcd February H I49 from Air Materiel Command Ifea(i-
quarters No. F-TR-~.?74-L\.
The ILl: question has ~:om(' relation to the ETJI or ETA for UFOs as
Jiscussed in the preceding ~·ection. ,'learly, if ETIl is true, then ILl:
must also be true because some UFO:; hm!l~ th('n to come from some un-
earthly civilization. Conversely, if ''JC could know conclusively that
ILE does not exist, then l:TlI could not he true. But even if ILE exists,
it does not follo\l' that the ETI! is true.
For it coulu be that tfh~ lLE j though existent, might not have
reached a stage cf uevt.'lopment in ,~hidl the beings have the technical
capacity or the uesirc to visit the !:al'th's surface. Much ~peculative
\\riting assumes implicitly that intelligent life progresses sr:eadily
both in intellectual and in its technol\)gicu.l development. 'if~~ began
on Earth more than a billion years ago, h'he.tcas the known geoh;gicdl
age of the Earth is some five LUlion years, so that life in any form
has olll)' existed for the most recent one-fifth of the Earth's life as
a soJiJ ball orbi ting the Sun. t-lan as an intelligent being has only
lived on Earth for sOJile 5,000 years, or about one-millionth of the
Earth's age. Technological Jevelopml'nt is even more recent. ~10reover
thE' greater part of \~hat \'il' think of as advanced technoio~y has onLy
bel'l! developeu in thl' 1ast 100 years. LV('11 today Wl' UQ not ret have a
tCC!\I'.O logy capab 11..' of ]Jutting mell on oth(;.~r pI allets of the so Jar ;.-;vs tem.
Tlki i ami Sagan, 1:1(>l»). Thuo; far VIC have no observational I)vidence
whatever on the question, so then-fore it remains open. An early un-
published discl1ssion is a letter of 13 December 1948 of J. E. Lipp to
Gen. LJonald t'utt (Appendi x D'J , Thi~ letter is Appendix D of the
rroj::-ct Sign report dated February H I49 from Air Materiel Command I!ea,l-
quarters No. F-TR-2.:74- p"
The iLl: question has ,;OP1{' re1aticn to the BTl! or ETA for UFOs as
discussed in tht.' precclling ~'ection, ,'h'urly, if ETII is true, then ILl:
must also be true because S01]]e UFO:; hav'~ then to come from some un-
earthly civilization. Conversely, if \'Ie could know conclusively that
ILl: does not exist, then rTIl could not be true, But even if ILE exi.sts,
it dol's not folIo\\' that the ETll is trur·.
For it coulu be that th\~ lLE , though e:\istent, might not have
reached a stage cf devdopment in \vhi~h tl1tem.
TlflVd of men over int.l;rstl'llar distances i.n the forescl'ahl(' future
seems now to bl' 'Illite out of the' qllestion. ~i'lIrc01j> 19()O; Markowitz.,
1% 7) . Report, from the classic collection. The PDF is mirrored here; the original link is under it. 1497 pages are in the text index: search them above, or from the library's search.