James Oberg | |
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Born | New York City, United States | November 7, 1944
Education | Ohio Wesleyan University, B.A. mathematics, 1966; Northwestern University, M.S. applied mathematics (astrodynamics), 1969; Contents
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Occupation(s) | Journalist, historian, author |
Spouse | Alcestis (married 1969–present) |
Children | 2 |
Awards | See #Awards |
Website | www |
James Edward Oberg (born November 7, 1944) is an American space journalist and historian, regarded as an expert on the Russian and Chinese space programs. [1] [2] He had a 22-year career as a space engineer in NASA specializing in orbital rendezvous. Oberg is an author of ten books and more than a thousand articles on space flight. He gave many explanations of UFO phenomena in the popular press. He is also a consultant in spaceflight operations and safety.
James Oberg was born in New York City on November 7, 1944. [3]
He received a B.A. in Mathematics from Ohio Wesleyan University in 1966, a M.S. in applied mathematics (astrodynamics) from Northwestern University in 1969 (where he was also a NASA Trainee [4] ) and a M.S. in computer science from University of New Mexico in 1972. [3]
At Northwestern University he started Ph.D. work in Mathematics, but was called to active duty by the United States Air Force in 1970. [5] There he worked with modeling laser and nuclear weapons [5] and in the years 1972–1975, while working in the Department of Defense Computer Institute, he helped design and test ARPANET, ancestor of the Internet. [6]
After service in the United States Air Force, he joined NASA in 1975, where he worked until 1997 [4] at Johnson Space Center on the Space Shuttle program. He worked in the Mission Control Center for several Space Shuttle missions from STS-1 on, specializing in orbital rendezvous techniques. This culminated in planning the orbit for the STS-88 mission, [6] the first International Space Station (ISS) assembly flight.
During the 1990s, he was involved in NASA studies of the Soviet space program, with particular emphasis on safety aspects; [6] these had often been covered up or downplayed, and with the advent of the ISS and the Shuttle–Mir programs, NASA was keen to study them as much as possible. He privately published several books on the Soviet (and later Russian) programs, and became one of the few Western specialists on Russian space history.
He has often been called to testify before the US Congress on the Russian space program. [7]
In 1997 he voluntarily resigned from NASA and started a full-time free-lance career. [8] Currently he works as a consultant in spaceflight operations and safety and as a space journalist. [8]
As a journalist, Oberg writes for several publications, mostly online; he was previously a space correspondent or commentator for UPI, ABC News and currently MSNBC, [4] often in an on-air role. He is a Fellow of the skeptical organization CSICOP [3] and a consultant to its magazine Skeptical Inquirer .
He has written more than a thousand magazine and newspaper articles, [3] [4] including such magazines as The Wall Street Journal, USA Today, Scientific American, OMNI, Popular Science, Popular Mechanics, New Scientist, IEEE Spectrum, Air Force Magazine, Star and Sky, etc. [5]
Oberg is also a space consultant and on-air commentator to NBC News, Discovery Canada and the BBC. [5]
In December 1990, Horizon , a British television science and philosophy television documentary program, aired a three-part series, "Red Star in Orbit," based on Oberg's book of the same name. WGBH Boston adapted the Horizon series for its Nova television science series, a three-part miniseries titled "The Russian Right Stuff," which aired in February 1991. [9] HBO has optioned Red Star in Orbit for a future production. Also in 1991, Oberg launched a battle for official recognition of Robert Henry Lawrence, Jr. (1935–1967) as a United States astronaut; [10] the United States Air Force officially recognized Lawrence in January 1997, six years after Oberg had begun his campaign. [10]
In 1999, Oberg wrote Space Power Theory, sponsored by United States military [11] as a part of an official campaign in changing perceptions of space warfare, specifically deployment and use of weapons in outer space, and its political implications. [11] "In Oberg's view, space is not an extension of air warfare but is unique in itself." [11]
James Oberg is an author of ten books [3] in addition to several technical NASA publications. [12]
He also wrote encyclopedia articles on space exploration in the World Book Encyclopedia, Britannica yearbook, Grolier and Academic American Encyclopedia . [3]
Oberg was commissioned by NASA to write a rebuttal of Apollo Moon landing conspiracy theories. However, NASA dropped the project after ABC's World News Tonight program ran a story about it, claiming it was beneath NASA's dignity to respond to Moon landing denialists claims. [13] Oberg has said that he still intends to pursue the project, "depending on successfully arranging new funding sources." [13] [14]
Oberg writes that Moon landing conspiracy theories are fueled by resentment of American culture by some countries. He gives the example of Cuba, where he claims many school teachers say the landing was a fraud. [13] [15] But besides this, the new wave of conspiracy theorists appear to use alternative publication methods to publicize their claims.
Oberg says that belief in the conspiracy is not the fault of the hoaxists, but rather of educators and people (including NASA) who should provide information to the public. [13] NASA does not, in Oberg's opinion, provide an adequate reaction to the theorists' claims.
In April 2012 Oberg traveled to North Korea as an NBC space consultant [16] to observe the launching of the Kwangmyŏngsŏng-3 satellite and determine whether it is a military launch. Together with a team of journalists [17] he inspected the Sohae Satellite Launching Station, the Unha rocket and the satellite. According to Oberg, North Korea "showed everything but the important things" [18] and did not manage to demonstrate peaceful intent.
James Oberg often writes about alleged UFO sightings, giving scientific explanations to seemingly extraterrestrial phenomena, or otherwise debunking them as hoaxes.
Oberg categorized UFO sightings (excluding those identified as hoaxes) into one of three groups: [19] [20] [21]
Date | Phenomenon | Explanation |
---|---|---|
February 20, 1962 | John Glenn in the Mercury capsule saw three objects following and then overtaking the capsule | Small space debris – "snowflakes" [22] |
May 24, 1962 | Scott Carpenter in Mercury-Atlas 7 photographs "a saucer" | Tracking balloon ejected from the capsule [22] |
May 30, 1962 | X-15 pilot Joe Walton photographed five discs | Complete fabrication by ufologists; pilot's actual name was Joseph A. Walker [22] |
July 17, 1962 | X-15 pilot Robert Michael White photographed objects close to the plane | Small objects, probably ice flakes from fuel tanks [22] |
October 3, 1962 | Walter Schirra on Mercury-Atlas 8 reported large glowing objects over the Indian Ocean | Lightning-lit cloud masses, misquotations [22] |
May 16, 1963 | Gordon Cooper on Mercury-Atlas 9 reports a greenish UFO and other mysterious sightings | Fabrications, misquotations [22] |
March 8, 1964 | Russian cosmonauts on Voskhod 2 report an UFO while entering Earth's atmosphere | Probably man-made satellite [22] |
October 12, 1964 | Three Russian cosmonauts report being surrounded by fast moving discs | Complete fabrication [22] |
June 3, 1965 | Gemini 4 UFOs | Exaggerations and misquotations by ufologists [22] |
December 4, 1965 | Frank Borman and Jim Lovell on Gemini 7 photographed two oval-shaped UFOs | Complete fabrication [22] |
December 9, 1965 | Kecksburg UFO incident | Kosmos 96 satellite, explanation later disproved [23] |
July 18, 1966 | John Young and Michael Collins on Gemini 10 photographed a large cylindrical object accompanied by two smaller | Fabrication – no photos were taken, astronauts reported bright fragments near their spacecraft, probably pieces of the booster of some other satellite [22] |
September 12, 1966 | Richard F. Gordon, Jr. and Pete Conrad on Gemini 11 report and photograph a yellow-orange UFO | A satellite [22] |
November 11, 1966 | Jim Lovell and Buzz Aldrin on Gemini 12 report 4 UFOs linked in a row | Discarded trash bags; misquotations [22] |
December 21, 1968 | Frank Borman and Jim Lovell on Apollo 8 report a "bogie" (an unidentified object) | Misplaced quotations, pieces of debris associated with separation from the booster rocket [22] |
May 1969 | Apollo 10 'space music' | Radio interference between the Command Module and the Lunar Module landing vehicles [24] |
July 1969 | Apollo 11 UFO incidents | Complete fabrication of photos and transcripts; all data available to the public [25] |
November 14, 1969 | Pete Conrad, Alan Bean and Richard Gordon on Apollo 12 report a UFO preceding them on the path to the Moon | Misunderstood the meaning of conversation with ground control; reflection of the Moon [22] |
September 20, 1973 | Skylab 3 UFO Photographs | Space debris [26] |
February 12, 1980 | UFO observed over the Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory in Chile | Kosmos 1164 launch from Plesetsk Cosmodrome [27] |
June 14, 1980 | UFO over Russia and then South America | Kosmos 1188 satellite launch [27] |
October 31, 1981 | UFO over Argentina and Chile | Kosmos 1317 satellite launch [27] |
September 7, 1984 | UFO observed in eastern Europe | SS-X-25 ICBM test launch [28] [29] [30] |
January 1989; March 1989 | Phobos 2 spacecraft photographs mysterious structures on the surface of Mars | Shadow of Phobos moon elongated due to slow acquisition of the image by scanning radiometer [31] [32] |
November 5, 1990 | UFO observed by airline crews | Re-entry of the Proton-K rocket carrying Gorizont 33 satellite across France and Germany [33] |
September 15, 1991 | STS-48: several objects appearing | Ice particles hit by a thruster plume [34] [35] [36] |
January 28, 1994 | UFO observed by airline crews | Launch of Progress M-21 spacecraft [33] |
December 2, 1996 | STS-80 unusual phenomena | Nearby sunlit debris [37] |
December 1998 | STS-88 "Black Knight" or "Phantom Satellite" | Insulation blanket dropped by astronauts [38] [39] [40] |
James Oberg wrote several articles as a publicity campaign to remove guns from the ISS. [41] [42] The TP-82 Cosmonaut survival pistol was stowed in the Soyuz emergency landing survival kit and was added there for hunting and self-defense after landing in inhospitable environment. It had three barrels and a folding stock that doubled as a shovel and contained a machete. The gun was only carried by Russian members of the ISS. Oberg suggested that it might be an invitation to a future disaster and proposed it to be put in a compartment accessible only from outside, after landing.
In 2014 Oberg asked Samantha Cristoforetti, an Italian ISS astronaut, about the pistol and she admitted the gun is removed from the list, or more precisely, it is still on the official list of kit contents, but the committee meets before every mission to review the list and vote to remove the pistol for the specific flight. [43]
Oberg has been married since 1969 and lives with his wife Alcestis in Dickinson, Texas. He has two grown sons (born 1977 and 1984). [3] [4] [5]
He has a conversant knowledge of Russian, French and Latin, and has some familiarity with German, Swedish, Spanish, Kazakh and Japanese. [3]
The International Space Station (ISS) is a large space station assembled and maintained in low Earth orbit by a collaboration of five space agencies and their contractors: NASA, Roscosmos (Russia), ESA (Europe), JAXA (Japan), and CSA (Canada). The ISS is the largest space station ever built. Its primary purpose is to perform microgravity and space environment experiments.
The Space Shuttle program was the fourth human spaceflight program carried out by the U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), which accomplished routine transportation for Earth-to-orbit crew and cargo from 1981 to 2011. Its official program name was Space Transportation System (STS), taken from a 1969 plan for a system of reusable spacecraft where it was the only item funded for development, as a proposed nuclear shuttle in the plan was cancelled in 1972. It flew 135 missions and carried 355 astronauts from 16 countries, many on multiple trips.
A space station is a spacecraft which remains in orbit and hosts humans for extended periods of time. It therefore is an artificial satellite featuring habitation facilities. The purpose of maintaining a space station varies depending on the program. Most often space stations have been research stations, but they have also served military or commercial uses, such as hosting space tourists.
The Kecksburg UFO incident occurred on December 9, 1965, at Kecksburg, Pennsylvania, United States, when a fireball was reported by citizens of six U.S. states and Canada over Detroit, Michigan, and Windsor, Ontario. Astronomers said it was likely to have been a meteor bolide burning up in the atmosphere and descending at a steep angle. NASA released a statement in 2005 reporting that experts had examined fragments from the area and determined they were from a Soviet satellite, but that records of their findings were lost in 1987. NASA responded to court orders and Freedom of Information Act requests to search for the records. The incident gained wide notoriety in popular culture and ufology, with speculation ranging from extraterrestrial craft to debris from the Soviet space probe Kosmos 96, and is often called "Pennsylvania's Roswell".
Jerry Lynn Ross is a retired United States Air Force officer, engineer, and a former NASA astronaut. Ross is a veteran of 7 Space Shuttle missions, making him the joint record holder for most spaceflights.
STS-114 was the first "Return to Flight" Space Shuttle mission following the Space Shuttle Columbia disaster. Discovery launched at 10:39 EDT, July 26, 2005. The launch, 907 days after the loss of Columbia, was approved despite unresolved fuel sensor anomalies in the external tank that had prevented the shuttle from launching on July 13, its originally scheduled date.
STS-88 was the first Space Shuttle mission to the International Space Station (ISS). It was flown by Space Shuttle Endeavour, and took the first American module, the Unity node, to the station.
Frank Lee Culbertson Jr. is an American former naval officer and aviator, test pilot, aerospace engineer, NASA astronaut, graduate of the US Naval Academy, and member of the United States Astronaut Hall of Fame. He served as the commander of the International Space Station for almost four months in 2001 and was the only U.S. citizen not on Earth when the September 11 attacks occurred.
STS-121 was a 2006 NASA Space Shuttle mission to the International Space Station (ISS) flown by Space ShuttleDiscovery. The main purposes of the mission were to test new safety and repair techniques introduced following the Columbia disaster of February 2003 as well as to deliver supplies, equipment and German European Space Agency (ESA) astronaut Thomas Reiter to the ISS.
The Shuttle–Mir program was a collaborative 11-mission space program between Russia and the United States that involved American Space Shuttles visiting the Russian space station Mir, Russian cosmonauts flying on the Shuttle, and an American astronaut flying aboard a Soyuz spacecraft to engage in long-duration expeditions aboard Mir.
A space rendezvous is a set of orbital maneuvers during which two spacecraft, one of which is often a space station, arrive at the same orbit and approach to a very close distance. Rendezvous requires a precise match of the orbital velocities and position vectors of the two spacecraft, allowing them to remain at a constant distance through orbital station-keeping. Rendezvous may or may not be followed by docking or berthing, procedures which bring the spacecraft into physical contact and create a link between them.
STS-117 was a Space Shuttle mission flown by Space Shuttle Atlantis, launched from pad 39A of the Kennedy Space Center on June 8, 2007. Atlantis lifted off from the launch pad at 19:38 EDT. Damage from a hail storm on February 26, 2007, had previously caused the launch to be postponed from an originally-planned launch date of March 15, 2007. The launch of STS-117 marked the 250th orbital human spaceflight. It was also the heaviest flight of the Space Shuttle.
STS-129 was a NASA Space Shuttle mission to the International Space Station (ISS). Atlantis was launched on November 16, 2009, at 14:28 EST, and landed at 09:44 EST on November 27, 2009, on runway 33 at the Kennedy Space Center's Shuttle Landing Facility. It was also the last Shuttle mission of the 2000s.
STS-131 was a NASA Space Shuttle mission to the International Space Station (ISS). Space ShuttleDiscovery launched on April 5, 2010, at 6:21 am from LC-39A, and landed at 9:08 am on April 20, 2010, on runway 33 at the Kennedy Space Center's Shuttle Landing Facility. The mission marked the longest flight for Space Shuttle Discovery.
Spaceflight began in the 20th century following theoretical and practical breakthroughs by Konstantin Tsiolkovsky, Robert H. Goddard, and Hermann Oberth, each of whom published works proposing rockets as the means for spaceflight. The first successful large-scale rocket programs were initiated in Nazi Germany by Wernher von Braun. The Soviet Union took the lead in the post-war Space Race, launching the first satellite, the first animal, the first human and the first woman into orbit. The United States landed the first men on the Moon in 1969. Through the late 20th century, France, the United Kingdom, Japan, and China were also working on projects to reach space.
STS-135 was the 135th and final mission of the American Space Shuttle program. It used the orbiter Atlantis and hardware originally processed for the STS-335 contingency mission, which was not flown. STS-135 launched on July 8, 2011, and landed on July 21, 2011, following a one-day mission extension. The four-person crew was the smallest of any shuttle mission since STS-6 in April 1983. The mission's primary cargo was the Multi-Purpose Logistics Module (MPLM) Raffaello and a Lightweight Multi-Purpose Carrier (LMC), which were delivered to the International Space Station (ISS). The flight of Raffaello marked the only time that Atlantis carried an MPLM.
Docking and berthing of spacecraft is the joining of two space vehicles. This connection can be temporary, or partially permanent such as for space station modules.
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. This conspiracy theory combines several unrelated stories into one narrative.
Unidentified flying objects have been reported by astronauts while in space. These sightings have been claimed as evidence for extraterrestrial life by ufologists.
Oberg is a recognized Soviet Space expert, sometime NOVA host on PBS, special consultant to the Sotheby's auction house for Soviet space memorabilia, and the author of the definitive tome Red Star in Orbit (Random House 1981).Catscan archive homepage here. Archived 2009-10-04 at the Wayback Machine
I'm told that this is official dogma still taught in schools in Cuba, plus wherever else Cuban teachers have been sent (such as Sandinista Nicaragua and Angola).