2020 in UFO history
From the UAP Encyclopedia, the open encyclopedia of UFO and UAP history · 📅 Year
Contents 5
| Year | 2020 |
|---|---|
| Events | 16 |
| Decade | 2020s |
| Topics | Secrecy & cover-up (topic), Government programs (topic), Crashes & retrievals (topic), Propulsion & physics (topic) |
| Timeline | 2020 on the UAP Timeline |
2020 in UFO history — the UAP Timeline records 16 events in 2020, mostly about secrecy & cover-up and government programs. People named in these events include Harold Puthoff, Richard Doty, David Grusch, Joseph Gradisher, Eugene Podkletnov.
Overview
2020 put UFOs back on the official agenda. On 27 April the Pentagon officially released three Navy videos of unidentified objects, from 2004 and 2014–2015, that had circulated since 2017.[1] After a June 2020 Senate Intelligence Committee hearing, Senator Marco Rubio asked for the footage to be released, saying he worried an adversary might have made "some technological leap." On 24 June the committee voted to require the intelligence community and the Pentagon to track and analyse the data publicly.[2] The Unidentified Aerial Phenomena Task Force, run within the Office of Naval Intelligence, was approved on 4 August and announced on 14 August. Its mission was "to detect, analyze and catalog" objects that could threaten national security.[2] In December Congress included a provision ordering a UFO report within six months in its omnibus spending and coronavirus-relief legislation.[3]
The timeline's 2020 entries show how the subject was managed. A Navy briefing card dated 24 July, prepared by Captain Joseph Gradisher and Pentagon spokesperson Susan Gough, told personnel not to call UAP "UFOs." It said that term was linked to extraterrestrials and "the associated hysteria" in media coverage.[4] See Navy UAP briefing cards. On 10 July, according to the timeline, Gradisher wrote that he and Gough sought to coordinate Freedom of Information replies on UAP across government.[5] On 20 February former Pentagon official Christopher Mellon said the Space-Based Infrared System had recorded unidentified objects that changed direction and were not meteors.[5] Other entries include claims by Eugene Podkletnov of gravity effects from spinning gold layers, Richard Doty's comments on "Project Serpo," a Navy communications operator's claim that the 2004 "Tic Tac" was really a triangle, and a Marcel family account of Roswell debris.[6][4][7]
Events
- Doty on Serpo believers (2020) (2 February 2020) — Richard Doty allegedly says some DIA members believe parts of the SERPO 'exchange' rumor.
- Podkletnov gold-layer claim (2020) (4 February 2020) — Russian engineer Eugene Podkletnov claims an effect resembling gravity modification.
- Puthoff denies threats (2020) (8 February 2020) — Hal Puthoff denies rumors his family was threatened over antigravity information.
- Doty worked for Puthoff (8 February 2020) — Puthoff says Richard Doty worked for him on a program before AATIP.
- SBIRS UAP detections claim (20 February 2020) — Christopher Mellon says a missile-warning satellite system has recorded unidentified objects.
- Paul Murad's energy device (29 February 2020) — A retired Pentagon analyst says a company helped him build an electromagnetic energy device.
- Sarfatti's slow-light Tic Tac theory (20 March 2020) — Physicist Jack Sarfatti suggests the Tic Tac used a metamaterial that slows light.
- Atomic Energy Commission UFO materials claim (29 April 2020) — A journalist's source says the Atomic Energy Commission had UAP materials as early as 1947.
- Will Miller's secret groups claim (2020) (25 June 2020) — Retired Navy commander Will Miller says he believes secret groups control advanced craft.
- Gradisher–Gough FOIA coordination emails (10 July 2020) — A Navy spokesman's email shows efforts to coordinate FOIA replies about UAP across agencies.
- Elizondo's secure-room meetings (2020) (19 July 2020) — Lue Elizondo says he met lawmakers in a secure room about UAP.
- Navy UAP briefing cards (24 July 2020) — A Navy briefing card tells staff to say 'UAP', not 'UFO'.
- Karson Kammerzell's Tic Tac account (30 November 2020) — A Navy communications operator describes the Tic Tac event from the USS Princeton.
- Coast Guard silver disc claim (30 November 2020) — A Coast Guard retiree says he saw a silver disc pulled from the ocean.
- Vallée on a contractor controlling the issue (2020) (4 December 2020) — Vallée says a private contractor controls the UAP issue.
- Marcel family Roswell debris (12 December 2020) — Jesse Marcel's grandson says his family held unusual Roswell debris.
People
- Harold Puthoff — Physicist who co-founded the SRI remote-viewing research and later worked on AAWSAP and To The Stars Academy.
- Richard Doty — Air Force Office of Special Investigations agent who fed disinformation to UFO researchers in the 1980s.
- David Grusch — Former intelligence officer who testified in 2023 that the U.S. has recovered non-human craft.
- Joseph Gradisher — Navy spokesman on UAP matters.
- Eugene Podkletnov — Russian engineer who claimed spinning superconductors reduce gravity.
- John Petersen — Futurist who founded the Arlington Institute.
- Paul Bennewitz — Albuquerque physicist targeted by Air Force disinformation in the Bennewitz affair.
- Christopher Mellon — Former deputy assistant secretary of defense for intelligence who helped release the Navy UAP videos.
- John Brandenburg — Plasma physicist who made claims about Mars and the Moon.
- Jack Sarfatti — Physicist known for unconventional theories about UFO propulsion.
Nearby years
2019 in UFO history · 2021 in UFO history
References
- Pentagon UFO videos — Wikipedia · en.wikipedia.org
- All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office — Wikipedia · en.wikipedia.org
- UFO Report (U.S. Intelligence) [Preliminary Assessment: Unidentified Aerial Phenomena] — Wikipedia · en.wikipedia.org
- UAP timeline published with Michael Shellenberger's 2024 congressional testimony, entries for 19 July to 30 November 2020 · oversight.house.gov
- UAP timeline (Shellenberger testimony), entries for 20 February to 10 July 2020 · oversight.house.gov
- UAP timeline (Shellenberger testimony), entries for 2 to 8 February 2020 · oversight.house.gov
- UAP timeline (Shellenberger testimony), entries for December 2020 · oversight.house.gov
Facts in this article are drawn in part from the Wikipedia articles “Pentagon UFO videos”, “All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office”, “UFO Report (U.S. Intelligence) [Preliminary Assessment: Unidentified Aerial Phenomena]”, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.
This page was last edited on 29 October 2026. Articles are written in our own words from the sources listed under References; disputed claims are attributed to the people who made them.
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