Editing Project Blue Book (section)

{{short description|American systematic study of unidentified flying objects}}
{{about|the US Air Force study|the TV series|Project Blue Book (TV series){{!}}''Project Blue Book'' (TV series)}}
{{use American English|date=March 2019}}
{{use mdy dates|date=March 2019}}
[[File:Project Blue Book, complete status reports.pdf|thumb|Project Blue Book, complete status reports (1 to 12 and 14), including Project Grudge data, and up to May 1955]]
[[File:Edward James Ruppelt at Bluebook (cropped).jpg|thumb|Captain [[Edward J. Ruppelt]] (left), head of Project Blue Book, at the Wright-Patterson Air Force Base project office in March 1953]]
[[File:Hector Quintanilla who became Chief Of Ufo Project Blue Book in August 1963.jpg|thumb|[[Hector Quintanilla]] became chief of Project Blue Book in August 1963]]
{{UFO sidebar}}

'''Project Blue Book''' was the code name for the systematic study of [[unidentified flying object]]s (UFOs) by the [[United States Air Force]] from March 1952 to its termination on December 17, 1969. The project, headquartered at [[Wright-Patterson Air Force Base]], [[Ohio]], was initially directed by Captain [[Edward J. Ruppelt]] and followed projects of a similar nature such as [[Project Sign]] established in 1947, and [[Project Grudge]] in 1949. Project Blue Book had two goals, namely, to determine if UFOs were a threat to [[national security]], and to [[Scientific method|scientifically analyze]] UFO-related data.

Thousands of UFO reports were collected, analyzed, and filed. As a result of the ''[[Condon Committee|Condon Report]]'', which concluded that the study of UFOs was unlikely to yield major scientific discoveries, and a review of the report by the [[National Academy of Sciences]], Project Blue Book was terminated in 1969. The Air Force supplies the following summary of its investigations:

{{blockquote|
# No UFO reported, investigated, and evaluated by the Air Force was ever an indication of threat to our national security;
# There was no evidence submitted to or discovered by the Air Force that sightings categorized as "unidentified" represented technological developments or principles beyond the range of modern scientific knowledge; and
# There was no evidence indicating that sightings categorized as "unidentified" were extraterrestrial vehicles.<ref>[https://archive.today/20120719123429/http://www.af.mil/information/factsheets/factsheet_print.asp?fsID=188&page=1 "Unidentified Flying Objects and Air Force Project Blue Book"] URL accessed February 21, 2010</ref>}}

By the time Project Blue Book ended, it had collected 12,618 UFO reports, and concluded that most of them were misidentifications of natural [[Phenomenon|phenomena]] ([[cloud]]s, [[star]]s, etc.) or conventional aircraft. According to the [[National Reconnaissance Office]] a number of the reports could be explained by flights of the formerly secret reconnaissance planes [[Lockheed U-2|U-2]] and [[Lockheed A-12|A-12]].<ref>{{cite web|title=National Reconnaissance Office Review and Redaction Guide: Appendix C – Glossary of Code Words and Terms|url=http://nro.gov/foia/NRO_RRG_redacted.PDF|publisher=National Reconnaissance Office|year=2008}}{{dead link|date=January 2018 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes}}</ref> 701 reports were classified as unexplained, even after stringent analysis.<ref>{{cite news |title=Unidentified Flying Objects and Air Force Project Blue Book |url=https://www.af.mil/About-Us/Fact-Sheets/Display/Article/104590/unidentified-flying-objects-and-air-force-project-blue-book/ |website=U.S. Air Force}}</ref> The UFO reports were archived and are available under the [[Freedom of Information Act (United States)|Freedom of Information Act]], but names and other personal information of all witnesses have been [[Redaction|redacted]].