The Object Seen from Gemini 4
During America's first spacewalk mission, an astronaut saw a white, cylindrical object with an arm sticking out, and tried to photograph it.
What was reported
On 4 June 1965, during the Gemini 4 mission, commander James McDivitt saw an object outside the spacecraft as it passed over the Pacific near Hawaii: white and cylindrical, with what looked like an arm sticking out of it. His crewmate Ed White was asleep. McDivitt took photographs and some film before it was lost in the glare of the Sun.
The frames NASA released later showed a bright streak, which McDivitt said was a reflection on the window rather than what he had seen.
Explanations offered
NORAD checked which known objects were nearby; suggestions include the upper stage of their own Titan rocket, or an American satellite, though neither fits perfectly. McDivitt always said it was unidentified only in the sense that he didn't know what it was, and that he didn't think it was a spacecraft from somewhere else.
- When
- 4 June 1965
- Where
- In orbit over the Pacific, near Hawaii
- Witnesses
- Astronaut James McDivitt
- Status
- Unidentified
Famous cases are real, widely reported events. Each file sets out what witnesses said and the explanations that have been offered, without taking a side.