Cheyenne Mountain Fastwalker: Unknown Penetrates US Space Surveillance
Near the middle of December 1986, at the U.S. Space Command's Surveillance Center inside Cheyenne Mountain, Colorado, Commander Sheila Mondran detects something tripping the U.S. Naval Space Surveillance System ('The Fence') — a man-made energy field reaching nearly 15,000 miles into space that can determine the speed and size of any object in its range. The intrusion occurs in the skies above Lake Kickapoo, Texas. The object fits no known category, performing seemingly impossible maneuvers including loops, backtracks, crash dives, and astonishingly fast climbs. Mondran sends a Flash Alert to CINC-NORAD, reserved for potentially dangerous situations that reach the President's desk. A summary is sent to the Joint Chiefs of Staff and President Reagan for his daily briefing. Reagan, without a trace of humor, reveals he once saw a UFO as Governor of California and recommends a follow-up investigation.
Background
UFO literature describes an alleged incident in mid-December 1986 involving the Cheyenne Mountain/NORAD environment: several personnel reportedly saw lights moving toward the installation, and a triggering of the U.S. Naval Space Surveillance System (“The Fence”) has also been claimed. No publicly available official incident record establishes the additional claims of an alert, interceptor launches, individual interviews, or later drinking-on-duty reprimands. A purported report to NORAD or the President therefore remains unconfirmed.