1973 · Earth orbit
Skylab's red object
When1973 – 1974
WhereEarth orbit
Backing1 independent
Witnesses1 named
In their own words
“one of the most unusual things that we saw”
Owen Garriott, Skylab 3 science pilot, 1973 crew debriefing · source
All three Skylab crews reported something. The first saw light flashes. On Skylab 3, Jack Lousma spotted a 'rather large red star' much brighter than Jupiter, and the crew tracked it for up to ten minutes; Owen Garriott called it 'one of the most unusual things that we saw'. The last crew reported flashing lights outside the station moving relative to it. The debriefings are now on war.gov.
Evidence, in date order (1)
- 1973Owen Garriottwitnessfellow crew member who tracked the red object and called it unusual war.gov: Skylab technical crew debriefings, 1973–74
How plausible · High
Named astronauts reported a bright red object in official debriefings; no image or tracking data released.
- ●●Access From the station.
- ●●No gain sought Official.
- ●●Character record Astronauts.
- ●●Checkable details check out Debrief.
- ●○Cost of speaking Named.
- ●○Restraint Plain report.
Plausibility weighs how well an account fits where secrecy hides the documents by design, so missing records never count against it. Strength measures what is documented. Assessed 2026-10-23.
On the record
- Technical debriefing excerpts from all three Skylab crews, 1973–74.
Claims
The bright red object paced the station in a matching orbit, as later objects did around the Shuttle.Shuttle footagespeculationSourced, unconfirmedbelievers
war.gov files on this case (1)
PDFSkylab Techincal Crew Debriefing 1973NASA · Release 01 · 1973
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