STS-80 Unidentified Object (1996) – PURSUE Files

Three photographs of an unidentified object in low Earth orbit taken from Space Shuttle Columbia in late 1996, released in PURSUE Release 04

⚠ Note on validity: Small bright objects photographed from the shuttle are usually satellites, rocket bodies, debris or ice particles from the shuttle itself. Nothing in the release identifies this one.

STS-80 object
Dates	November 19 – December 7, 1996
Mission	STS-80, Space Shuttle Columbia
Agency	NASA
Released	Release 04 (July 10, 2026)
Files	3 (Image)
Previously public?	Not as UAP — shuttle photos are generally in NASA archives; these three appear newly highlighted
Official releaseUnresolved

During STS-80, Space Shuttle Columbia’s longest mission (November 19 to December 7, 1996), astronauts photographed an unidentified object in low Earth orbit in a sequence of three images. In the first two the object appears near the center of the frame, to the right of Earth’s horizon; in the third it is seen against the Earth, “continu[ing] along a trajectory passing between Columbia and the Earth.”^[1]

The records

NASA-UAP-D030, STS-80 Unidentified Object Image 1, 1996

During STS-80, between November 19 and December 7, 1996, astronauts aboard Space Shuttle Columbia captured a series of three images of an unidentified object in low-Earth orbit. In the first photograph, the object is visible near the center of the frame, to the right of the limb of the Earth.
— Official PURSUE description

NASA-UAP-D031, STS-80 Unidentified Object Image 2, 1996

During STS-80, between November 19 and December 7, 1996, astronauts aboard Space Shuttle Columbia captured a series of three images of an unidentified object in low-Earth orbit. In the second photograph, the object is visible near the center of the frame, to the right of the limb of the Earth. It appears to have rotated or tumbled about its major axis, which is consistent with the behavior of a free-floating object.
— Official PURSUE description

NASA-UAP-D032, STS-80 Unidentified Object Image 3, 1996

During STS-80, between November 19 and December 7, 1996, astronauts aboard Space Shuttle Columbia captured a series of three images of an unidentified object in low-Earth orbit. In the third photograph, the object is visible near the center of the frame, superimposed against the Earth. It appears to have continued along a trajectory passing between Columbia and the Earth.
— Official PURSUE description

Analysis

Possible explanations. An object moving between the shuttle and Earth was in a lower orbit, which is typical of satellites, spent rocket stages and debris, thousands of which were in orbit by 1996. STS-80 itself deployed and retrieved two free-flying science satellites, ORFEUS-SPAS II and the Wake Shield Facility, which flew near Columbia for days; either could appear in photos as an unfamiliar bright object. Ice and debris shed by the shuttle are another common source, as in the 1991 STS-48 video often cited by UFO enthusiasts.

New or previously released? The photos come from NASA’s mission archives; their presentation as UAP is new in PURSUE.

Released files

PURSUE ID	Title	Type
NASA-UAP-D030	STS-80 Unidentified Object Image 1, 1996	Image
NASA-UAP-D031	STS-80 Unidentified Object Image 2, 1996	Image
NASA-UAP-D032	STS-80 Unidentified Object Image 3, 1996	Image

References

^ U.S. Department of War (2026). PURSUE Release 04 (July 10, 2026): NASA-UAP-D030, NASA-UAP-D031, NASA-UAP-D032, with official descriptions. war.gov/ufo.

Source: U.S. Department of War, PURSUE (Presidential Unsealing and Reporting System for UAP Encounters), war.gov/ufo. Official records are U.S. government works in the public domain; summaries and analysis on this page are by UFO UAP Wiki.