On August 4, 2020, the Department of Defense (DoD) announced the establishment of the UAP Task Force (UAPTF). Its mission, according to the press release, was to “improve its understanding of, and gain insight into, the nature and origins of [Unidentified Aerial Phenomena] UAPs. The mission of the task force is to detect, analyze and catalog UAPs that could potentially pose a threat to U.S. national security.” The DoD noted that incursions within “training ranges or designated airspace” would be the primary focus, and since its creation, they have conducted classified briefings on the topic for The White House, the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, Subcommittee on Counterterrorism, Counterintelligence, and Counterproliferation, and others.

 

The August 14, 2020, DoD press release announcing the establishment of the UAP Task Force (UAPTF). SOURCE

Now, a new document sheds light on what else they were doing behind the scenes. In a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request filed by The Black Vault, it was revealed by the response that in the first month after the establishment of the UAPTF, they initiated contact with NASA and requested that the task force brief NASA on UAPs in a secure setting.

But the exact reason WHY, remains unknown.

“During the course of its work, the UAPTF has reached out to organizations across DoD, the Intelligence Community, and the U.S. government,” Pentagon spokesperson Susan Gough said in an e-mailed statement to The Black Vault. “For security reasons, we will not detail the contributions of specific organizations to the UAPTF’s work, nor the areas discussed with every organization as part of the UAPTF’s investigations.”

Gough, who has largely been the voice for most UAP related comments given on behalf of the U.S. government, issued this statement to The Black Vault after coordinating with NASA to formulate the response. Her word speaks on behalf of both agencies regarding the matter.

Thomas Zurbuchen, Associate Administrator, NASA

This newly found discovery comes from documents obtained via a FOIA case (21-HQ-F-00507) asking for e-mails sent to or from NASA Science Associate Administrator Dr. Thomas Zurbuchen, which contain keyword phrases such as “Unidentified Aerial” or “unidentified flying” etc. It was motivated by a June 2, 2021, press conference wherein NASA Administrator Bill Nelson and Zurbuchen spoke about the phenomena.

The case yielded a small stack of records, but one gave an important revelation not yet known to the general public.

On September 13, 2020, then Acting Associate Administrator for the Office of International and Interagency Relations, Mike Gold, sent a “Weekly Update” e-mail to a list of recipients, which included Zurbuchen, then NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine, and many others. Within the update, Gold talks about a briefing he would be attending “at the request of the UAPTF.”

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The document names all those who would be attending the briefing via a “secure” video teleconference. That included International Space Station (ISS) Program Manager Joel Montalbano; Director of the Export Control and Interagency Liaison Division Margaret Kieffer; Former Associate Administrator for Legislative Affairs Suzanne Gillen; and Gold.

Mike Gold, Former Acting Associate Administrator for the Office of International and Interagency Relations

Prior to working with NASA, Gold worked for Bigelow Aerospace. Although potentially just a coincidence, Gold worked for Bigelow Aerospace from February of 2003 through April of 2016. This would put him within Bigelow Aerospace as the Director of D.C. Operations & Business Growth, when they were operating the Bigelow Aerospace Advanced Space Studies (BAASS) subsidiary allegedly investigating paranormal events and UFO sightings for the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA). This program was called the Advanced Aerospace Weapon Systems Applications Program (AAWSAP).

The request to brief NASA comes as bit of a surprise, since in the recent “UAP Report,” officially titled as “Preliminary Assessment: Unidentified Aerial Phenomena,” NASA was not mentioned in the list of government agencies that were coordinated with, though according to the U.S. government, that list was not entirely complete when it comes to entire scope of work done by the UAPTF outside of the report.

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