Caption transcript
Uh . And now at one hour at this
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NASA
governmentMay 15+
Historical caseStructured for retrospective review and comparison against modern sightings.
NASA-UAP-D010, Mercury Atlas 9 Audio Excerpt, May 15, 1963
Approximately one hour and 41 minutes into the final and longest flight of Project Mercury, Mercury-Atlas 9 mission (MA-9) Faith 7 Pilot L. Gordon Cooper Jr. notes that he sees “John’s fireflies,” referring to John Glenn’s term from the Mercury-Atlas 6 mission. NASA later determined that the “fireflies” are attributable to frozen condensation separating from the spacecraft body. The white, green-hued appearance of this phenomenon results from sunlight reflecting off frozen condensation.
UnknownAudioMay 15, 1963
Witnesses
Unknown
Duration
Unknown
Source material
3
Timeline
2
Source provenance
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Live sighting record 8c869cf6-4d3f-4c01-a251-67c7bbbbadf9.
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Field Intelligence
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Extracted details
Observed facts
Occurred
May 15, 1963
Timezone
GMT+00:00
Location details
Low Earth Orbit
Deep extraction
Source claims
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Source reported
NASA determined that the 'fireflies' seen by L. Gordon Cooper Jr. during the Mercury-Atlas 9 mission are attributable to frozen condensation separating from the spacecraft body.
NASA later determined that the 'fireflies' are attributable to frozen condensation separating from the spacecraft body.
Source reported
The white, green-hued appearance of the 'fireflies' phenomenon results from sunlight reflecting off frozen condensation.
The white, green-hued appearance of this phenomenon results from sunlight reflecting off frozen condensation.
Source reportedCaption transcript
NASA-UAP-D010, Mercury Atlas 9 Audio Excerpt, May 15, 1963 transcript includes a fireflies reference at 0:10.890.
[0:07.409] minutes . And I am observing John's [0:10.890] fireflies . [0:15.810] away from me .
Source reportedCaption transcript
NASA-UAP-D010, Mercury Atlas 9 Audio Excerpt, May 15, 1963 transcript includes a light-related observation at 0:50.529.
[0:47.970] The sun is coming up behind me . I'm [0:50.529] beginning to get the glow on the clouds . [1:07.610] Fireflies appear to be white . Very
Source reportedCaption transcript
NASA-UAP-D010, Mercury Atlas 9 Audio Excerpt, May 15, 1963 transcript includes a fireflies reference at 1:07.610.
[0:50.529] beginning to get the glow on the clouds . [1:07.610] Fireflies appear to be white . Very [1:10.919] whitish , uh , with almost a green like
Source reportedCaption transcript
NASA-UAP-D010, Mercury Atlas 9 Audio Excerpt, May 15, 1963 transcript includes a fireflies reference at 1:13.690.
[1:10.919] whitish , uh , with almost a green like [1:13.690] rail fireflies . [1:45.730] Clouds on the earth below are changing
Source reportedCaption transcript
NASA-UAP-D010, Mercury Atlas 9 Audio Excerpt, May 15, 1963 transcript includes a light-related observation at 1:47.897.
[1:45.730] Clouds on the earth below are changing [1:47.897] color . are getting quite light . [2:39.039] And I am now on the day side . The sun
Source reportedCaption transcript
NASA-UAP-D010, Mercury Atlas 9 Audio Excerpt, May 15, 1963 transcript includes a light-related observation at 2:48.690.
[2:44.970] observing stars . Uh , the earth is [2:48.690] light below me . The sun is still [2:51.970] behind me . The sky looks dark above me ,
Audio record
Transcript
23 timecoded segments
Caption transcript
Caption transcript
time . I now have 1 hour and 21
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minutes . And I am observing John's
Caption transcript
fireflies .
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away from me .
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I can observe them , uh . to be
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departing from the spacecraft .
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Drifting out to the rear . I can see
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some of them . A considerable distance
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out to the rear .
Caption transcript
The sun is coming up behind me . I'm
Caption transcript
beginning to get the glow on the clouds .
Case progression
Timeline
Encounter windowMay 15, 1963
The encounter time was extracted from the report body.
PublishedMay 22, 2026, 12:00 AM
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