Walter Cronkite questions Gordon Cooper about UFOs (1962)
In November 1962 the journalist Walter Cronkite asked astronaut Gordon Cooper for his views on unidentified flying objects. Cooper said that a large number of exceptionally well-qualified people had seen objects without a logical explanation.
Background
The interview
In November 1962 — six months before his own Mercury flight aboard Faith 7 — Walter Cronkite spoke with astronaut Gordon Cooper. Cronkite turned to unidentified flying objects because Cooper had previously expressed an interest in the subject.
Cooper replied that "a large number of exceptionally well-qualified people have seen objects" for which there was no "logical explanation". He went on to speculate about the existence of other planets with "a livable atmosphere" and that there might be "some type of human life" out there.
Why it matters
Cooper is best known as an advocate of UFO reality through his 1978 appearance on the Merv Griffin Show. This interview excerpt shows him in the same position sixteen years earlier — as a serving NASA astronaut, before his spaceflight. The audio was released only in 2026, as part of the third PURSUE tranche.
Not to be confused with the 1966 CBS documentary on the subject, which Cronkite also presented.