About Immaculate Constellation
Immaculate Constellation is the claimed name of a secret U.S. Defense Department program that allegedly collects and quarantines evidence of unidentified anomalous phenomena.
The full story, section by section
The story of Immaculate Constellation in 3 parts. Tap any part to read it in full.
-
The whistleblower's reportShellenberger said he had met the whistleblower and verified their credentials.Read this part →
Michael Shellenberger, who made the name public, in 2017. · Photo: Michael Shellenberger, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons -
The 13 November 2024 hearingShellenberger testified at the House Oversight subcommittee hearing "Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena: Exposing the Truth".Read this part →
Representative Nancy Mace, who published the whistleblower's report. · Photo: Office of Congresswoman Nancy Mace, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons -
ResponsePentagon spokesperson Sue Gough said: "The Department of Defense has no record, present or historical, of any type of SAP called 'IMMACULATE CONSTELLATION'." Earlier in 2024 AARO had said that long-running claims of secret UAP programmes r…Read this part → Illustration drawn for this site — not a photograph.
Key people
The people at the centre of the story — witnesses, investigators, officials and sceptics:
- Michael ShellenbergerMichael Shellenberger is an American writer and political activist known for his ecomodernist views, books on various public issues, and unsuccessful runs for governor of California. In 2024, he publ…
- Luis ElizondoLuis Elizondo is a former American Army counterintelligence officer and Defense Department official who became a prominent figure in the modern UFO debate after resigning in October 2017. He stated t…
- Tim GallaudetTimothy Cole Gallaudet is an American oceanographer, retired U.S. Navy rear admiral, and former acting administrator of NOAA.
- Nancy MaceNancy Mace is an American Republican politician born in North Carolina who has served in the South Carolina House of Representatives and the U.S. House of Representatives.
- Susan GoughSusan Gough is a U.S. Department of Defense spokesperson who became the Pentagon's main voice on unidentified aerial phenomena starting in 2019.
- David GruschDavid Grusch is a former U.S. Air Force officer and intelligence official who publicly claimed in 2023 that the United States government runs secret programs to recover and reverse-engineer non-human…
Related cases & events
Events and sightings linked to Immaculate Constellation:
🗓️ Event · 3 min readUAP hearingsPublic hearings in the U.S. Congress on UFOs and UAP, from 1966 to the whistleblower hearings of 2023–2025.
🗓️ Event · 7 min readKona BlueKona Blue was a proposed Department of Homeland Security special access program put forward in 2011 by former participants of a Pentagon UFO study to investigate unidentified phenomena and recovered materials. The program was established as a prospective prog…Programs, organizations & documents
The official programs, groups and papers involved:
🏢 Organization · 7 min readHouse Oversight CommitteeThe House Oversight Committee is the main investigative committee of the US House of Representatives with broad power to investigate the executive branch. Starting in 2023, the committee became Congress's main forum for public hearings on unidentified anomalo…
🏛️ Program or study · 10 min readAATIPThe Advanced Aerospace Threat Identification Program (AATIP) was an unpublicized U.S. Defense Department effort initiated in 2007 or 2008 within the Defense Intelligence Agency to study unidentified aerial phenomena.
🏢 Organization · 15 min readAAROThe All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office (AARO) is a United States Department of Defense organization created on July 20, 2022, to investigate unidentified anomalous phenomena. Its scope covers objects in the air, at sea, in space, and moving between those do…
📄 Document · 13 min readFreedom of Information ActThe Freedom of Information Act is a United States law signed by President Lyndon B. Johnson on July 4, 1966, requiring federal executive agencies to release records upon request unless they fall under specific exemptions. The statute allows federal courts to …
🏛️ Program or study · 6 min readLegacy programA legacy program is an alleged long-running secret United States program that recovers and reverse-engineers crashed craft of non-human origin without normal congressional oversight. The term circulated among researchers and contractors for years before forme…Books, films & documentaries
Where to read and watch more:
Related topics & places
Ideas, terms and places that come up in the story:
📖 Term · 4 min readUnacknowledged special access programAn unacknowledged special access program, or USAP, is a U.S. special access program whose existence is kept completely secret and is only disclosed to authorised individuals.
📖 Term · 7 min readSpecial access programA special access program (SAP) is a security arrangement used by the United States federal government to provide heightened safeguards and access limits for highly classified information. These programs span various categories within the Department of Defense…
📖 Term · 17 min readUnidentified flying objectAn unidentified flying object, or UFO, is an unexplained phenomenon or object seen in the sky, with the modern craze originating in the United States in June 1947. While popular culture often equates UFOs with alien spacecraft, most investigations reveal them…
🧭 Topic overview · 12 min readCongress & law (topic)This topic overview covers congressional hearings, laws, and inquiries regarding unidentified anomalous phenomena from 1950 to 2022. During the Cold War, Congress primarily received closed briefings from the Air Force, but since 2017 it has driven official po…🛸 UFO sightings about Immaculate Constellation
Sightings that mention Immaculate Constellation
More in the encyclopedia
Other articles that link to or mention Immaculate Constellation:
- Project Moon DustProject Moon Dust was a covert U.S. Air Force program active during the Cold War from 1954 to 1982 to locate, recover, and deliver foreign space vehicles, debris, and fallen hardware.
- Project Blue FlyProject Blue Fly was a US Air Force operation established by 1960 to quickly deliver recovered foreign space hardware and other intelligence items to the Foreign Technology Division. The program reli…
- Crash retrievalCrash retrieval is the alleged recovery of crashed non-human craft and their occupants by the United States government or others, starting with the 1947 Roswell incident. Numerous unverified claims a…
- Stargate ProjectThe Stargate Project was a secret US government program that ran from 1972 to 1995 to investigate "remote viewing" for intelligence purposes. Operating across multiple locations and agencies includin…
- Reverse engineeringReverse engineering is the process of studying an existing device, system, or software to understand how it works in order to copy, improve, or counter it. This practice consists of information extra…
- AAWSAPThe Advanced Aerospace Weapon System Applications Program (AAWSAP) was a Defense Intelligence Agency contract funded from 2008 that was awarded to Bigelow Aerospace Advanced Space Studies to study un…
Questions & answers
What is Immaculate Constellation?
Immaculate Constellation is the claimed name of a secret U.S. Defense Department program that allegedly collects and quarantines evidence of unidentified anomalous phenomena. Read: Immaculate Constellation →
Who is Michael Shellenberger?
Michael Shellenberger is an American writer and political activist known for his ecomodernist views, books on various public issues, and unsuccessful runs for governor of California. In 2024, he published a whistleblower's report about an alleged secret UAP program called Immaculate Constellation and testified about it at a House Oversight hearing. Read: Michael Shellenberger →
Who is Luis Elizondo?
Luis Elizondo is a former American Army counterintelligence officer and Defense Department official who became a prominent figure in the modern UFO debate after resigning in October 2017. He stated that he led the Pentagon's Advanced Aerospace Threat Identification Program and later helped bring Navy videos of unidentified objects to public attention, though the Pentagon has given conflicting accounts of his role. Since leaving government service, he has worked with the To the Stars Academy, lobbied Congress for UFO transparency, and written a memoir. Read: Luis Elizondo →
Who is Tim Gallaudet?
Tim Gallaudet: Timothy Cole Gallaudet is an American oceanographer, retired U.S. Navy rear admiral, and former acting administrator of NOAA. Read: Tim Gallaudet →
What was UAP hearings?
UAP hearings: Public hearings in the U.S. Congress on UFOs and UAP, from 1966 to the whistleblower hearings of 2023–2025. Read: UAP hearings →
What was Kona Blue?
Kona Blue was a proposed Department of Homeland Security special access program put forward in 2011 by former participants of a Pentagon UFO study to investigate unidentified phenomena and recovered materials. The program was established as a prospective program in July 2011, but it was ordered to be terminated within months before ever receiving funding or material. Records related to the program were later declassified and released in April 2024. Read: Kona Blue →
What is House Oversight Committee?
House Oversight Committee: The House Oversight Committee is the main investigative committee of the US House of Representatives with broad power to investigate the executive branch. Starting in 2023, the committee became Congress's main forum for public hearings on unidentified anomalous phenomena. While the hearings drew wide attention, they produced no physical evidence of non-human craft, and the Pentagon denied the described programs. Read: House Oversight Committee →
What is AATIP?
AATIP: The Advanced Aerospace Threat Identification Program (AATIP) was an unpublicized U.S. Defense Department effort initiated in 2007 or 2008 within the Defense Intelligence Agency to study unidentified aerial phenomena. Read: AATIP →
What is The New York Times?
The New York Times is a major American daily newspaper best known in UFO history for its December 2017 article revealing the Pentagon's secret Advanced Aerospace Threat Identification Program and publishing Navy videos of unidentified objects. This coverage and subsequent reporting by the newspaper sparked intense public interest and speculation, though it also drew criticism from some experts for being thinly sourced and slanted. Read: The New York Times →
What is Unacknowledged special access program?
Unacknowledged special access program: An unacknowledged special access program, or USAP, is a U.S. special access program whose existence is kept completely secret and is only disclosed to authorised individuals. Read: Unacknowledged special access program →
What is Special access program?
Special access program: A special access program (SAP) is a security arrangement used by the United States federal government to provide heightened safeguards and access limits for highly classified information. These programs span various categories within the Department of Defense and are controlled by designated classification authorities through a series of historical executive orders. While SAPs are central to modern debates regarding hidden UFO crash-retrieval programs, the Pentagon's All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office stated in 2024 that it found no evidence of such programs. Read: Special access program →