Black Knight satellite conspiracy theory
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The Black Knight satellite conspiracy theory claims that a spacecraft of extraterrestrial origin is in near-polar orbit of the Earth, and that NASA is covering up its existence and origin.[2][3] This conspiracy theory combines several unrelated stories into one narrative.[4][5]
A photo taken during the STS-88 mission claimed by some to show the Black Knight satellite is catalogued by NASA as a photo of space debris,[1] and space journalist James Oberg considers it as probable debris of a thermal blanket confirmed as lost during the mission.[4][6]
History
According to some
Black Knight is a jumble of completely unrelated stories; reports of unusual science observations, authors promoting fringe ideas, classified spy satellites and people over-interpreting photos. These ingredients have been chopped up, stirred together and stewed on the internet to one rambling and inconsistent dollop of myth.[4]
The origin of the Black Knight legend is often "retrospectively dated" back to
In 1954, UFO researcher Donald Keyhoe told newspapers that the United States Air Force had reported that two satellites orbiting Earth had been detected. At that time, no country had the technology to launch a satellite. Skeptics have noted that Keyhoe had been promoting a UFO book at the time, and the news stories were likely written "tongue-in-cheek" and not intended to be taken seriously.[4][5]
A British rocket called the Black Knight rocket was used in conjunction with the Blue Streak missile program between 1958 and 1965, to test re-entry vehicles. A "Black Knight satellite launcher" project announced in 1964[10] was considered a priority by the Ministry of Aviation.[11] The program never put anything into orbit,[5] and it is unrelated to the Black Knight satellite legend.[4]
In February 1960,
In 1963, astronaut
In 1973, Scottish author Duncan Lunan analysed the long delayed radio echoes received by Hals and others and speculated that they could possibly originate from a 13,000 year old alien probe located in an orbit around the Earth's Moon. He suggested that the probe may have originated from a planet located in the solar system of star Epsilon Boötis. Lunan later retracted his conclusions, saying that he had made "outright errors" and that his methods had been "unscientific".[4][5]
Space debris photographed in 1998 during the STS-88 mission has been widely claimed to be the Black Knight satellite. Space journalist James Oberg considers it probable that the photographs are of a thermal blanket that was confirmed as lost during an EVA by Jerry L. Ross and James H. Newman.[4][6]
References
- ^ a b "Display Photos Database Record". Retrieved 13 June 2016.
- ^ Emerson, Sarah (2 July 2016). "Some of the Very Best Alien Conspiracy Theories". Motherboard. VICE.com. Retrieved 14 March 2017.
- ISBN 978-3-319-42605-1.
...an imaginative fabrication by various pseudoscientists and conspiracy theorists...
- ^ a b c d e f g h i Redpath, Martina (18 July 2013). "The Truth About the Black Knight Satellite Mystery". Armagh Planetarium. Retrieved 10 March 2014.
- ^ a b c d e f g h Dunning, Brian (4 June 2013). "Skeptoid #365: The Black Knight Satellite". Skeptoid. Retrieved 15 June 2017.
- ^ a b Oberg, James. "STS-88 and the Black Knight" (PDF). Retrieved 27 July 2015.
- ^ "Alien Hunters Spent the Last Century Looking for the Black Knight Satellite". vice.com. 30 October 2015.
- ^ "This Quarter in Physics History February 1968: The discovery of pulsars announced". APS Physics. American Physical Society. Retrieved 24 November 2015.
- ISBN 978-3-642-31457-5.
- ISBN 978-1-4832-2169-4.
Details of the Black Knight satellite launcher are released by the Ministry of Aviation.
- ^ New Scientist. Reed Business Information. 22 October 1964. pp. 218–.
Looming large, although still below the threshold of open political controversy, are the Concord supersonic airliner and the Black Knight satellite launcher projects.
- ^ "Science: Space Watch's First Catch". Time. 7 March 1960. Retrieved 9 April 2014.