Department of War PURSUE File
NASA-UAP-D023, Interview Excerpt with Astronaut Gordon Cooper, 1962
November, 1962
Editorial summary
This is an audio excerpt from a November 1962 interview that journalist Walter Cronkite conducted with astronaut Gordon Cooper. Cronkite asks Cooper about his views on unidentified flying objects. Cooper states that a large number of well-qualified people have seen objects without a logical explanation, and speculates about other planets with a livable atmosphere and the possibility of some type of human life elsewhere.
Editorial summary written by govweird from the declassified document text. The official government description follows below.
Government description
In November 1962, journalist Walter Cronkite interviewed astronaut Gordon Cooper. In this excerpt from that interview, Cronkite asks Cooper about his views regarding the nature of unidentified flying objects, having previously expressed an interest in the subject. Cooper opines that “a large number of exceptionally well-qualified people have seen objects” without a “logical explanation” and speculates on the existence of other planets with “a livable atmosphere” and that maybe there are “some type of human life” out there. Interview was conducted in November 1962.
Caption issued by the U.S. Department of War on war.gov/ufo. Verbatim, unedited.
Originating agency
National Aeronautics and Space Administration
Record type
AUD
Incident date
November, 1962
Incident location
Unspecified
Release tranche
Release 03 (May 8, 2026)
Distribution
Cleared for public release