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Space pioneer Gordon Cooper dies
Cooper believed in UFO coverup
(CNN) -- Leroy Gordon Cooper, one of the nation's first astronauts who once set a space endurance record by traveling more than 3.3 million miles aboard Gemini 5 in 1965, died on Monday, NASA said. He was 77 [continued]
"I believe that these extraterrestrial vehicles and their crews are visiting this planet from other planets, which obviously are a little more technically advanced than we are here on Earth," he told a United Nations panel in 1985.
"I feel that we need to have a top-level, coordinated program to scientifically collect and analyze data from all over the Earth concerning any type of encounter, and to determine how best to interface with these visitors in a friendly fashion."
He added, "For many years I have lived with a secret, in a secrecy imposed on all specialists and astronauts. I can now reveal that every day, in the USA, our radar instruments capture objects of form and composition unknown to us."
---Gordon Cooper
Gordon Cooper Audio
As a tribute to the astronaut Gordon Cooper, who passed away earlier this week, we present a 2-hour interview Art Bell conducted with him in 1999, in which he discussed his NASA career and subsequent UFO sightings. It's a free listen to all for the next 24 hours, and then a Streamlink exclusive after that. Win | Real
Gordon Cooper was an American astronaut and test pilot who was part of the Mercury 7 program, the first group of astronauts selected by NASA in 1959. He was also known for his interest in UFOs and his claims of personal encounters with extraterrestrial beings.
Gordon Cooper passed away on October 4, 2004 at the age of 77.
Gordon Cooper was the first American to spend more than a day in space, completing a 34-hour mission aboard the Mercury spacecraft Faith 7 in 1963. He also served as command pilot for the Gemini 5 mission in 1965. His contributions to space exploration include testing new spacecraft and systems, conducting scientific experiments, and paving the way for future space missions.
Gordon Cooper was a strong believer in the existence of UFOs and claimed to have had multiple personal encounters with them. He even wrote a book called "Leap of Faith: An Astronaut's Journey into the Unknown" in which he shared his experiences and beliefs about extraterrestrial life.
Gordon Cooper's belief in UFOs did not seem to significantly affect his reputation as an astronaut. While some may have viewed his beliefs as controversial, he was highly respected for his contributions to space exploration and his career as an astronaut. Additionally, many of his fellow astronauts and NASA officials have also expressed their own beliefs in the possibility of extraterrestrial life.