1978 House SETI hearing
From the UAP Encyclopedia, the open encyclopedia of UFO and UAP history · 🗓️ Event
Contents 7
| Date | 19 September 1978 |
|---|---|
| Topics | Crashes & retrievals (topic), Beings & bodies (topic), Government programs (topic) |
| Testimony | Shellenberger testimony, p. 85 |
| Year | 1978 in UFO history |
| Timeline | 1978 on the UAP Timeline |
| Sources | 7 |
On 19 September 1978 a House subcommittee on space science and applications held a hearing in the Rayburn Building on the search for extraterrestrial intelligence (SETI) — the first congressional hearing on the subject. Scientists urged Congress to fund a NASA program to listen for radio signals from other civilisations.[1][2]
The hearing
Witnesses included NASA's associate administrator for space science, Noel Hinners, MIT physicist Philip Morrison, a pioneer of the idea of searching for radio signals, astronomer Richard Berendzen of American University and A. G. W. Cameron of the National Academy of Sciences. They argued for an appropriation of about $14 million to NASA, spread over seven years, to develop radio technology for the search.[1][2][3]
Political climate
The proposal faced resistance. The House had already cut NASA's proposed funding for the 1979 fiscal year and the Senate had removed it, and Senator William Proxmire had given the idea one of his "Golden Fleece" awards for wasteful spending. A Washington Post editorial after the hearing urged Congress to fund the proposal when it returned.[1]
Afterwards
NASA's SETI program later received modest funding before Congress cancelled it in 1993, after Senator Richard Bryan mocked it as a search for "little green men". The search continued with private funding through the SETI Institute.[4]
UFOs
The hearing focused on radio-telescope searches, not UFOs. NASA documents from the time show that UFO inquiries were kept separate from SETI, which mainstream scientists considered a legitimate research field; the hearing is included in the record of Congress engaging with the question of extraterrestrial life.[3][5]
People and topics
- NASA — The U.S. civilian space agency, created in 1958.
- Unidentified flying object — An object in the sky that can't be identified; the older term for UAP.
On the Timeline
- Three air bases claim (1978) (August 1978) — A source tells Leonard Stringfield that three air bases held alien craft or bodies.
- United Nations decision 33/426 (8 December 1978) — A UN draft resolution to create a UAP study body fails; Hynek and Vallée speak at the UN.
See every 1978 event on the UAP Timeline →
References
- "The search for extraterrestrial intelligence", Washington Post editorial (1978), reprinted by the Big Ear Radio Observatory · bigear.org · archived copy
- "US House of Representatives — 1978 hearing — Space Science Subcommittee — extraterrestrial intelligence research", UFO Scans · ufoscans.com · archived copy
- Noel Hinners — Wikipedia · en.wikipedia.org · archived copy
- Search for extraterrestrial intelligence — Wikipedia · en.wikipedia.org · archived copy
- NASA UFO documents (PDF), The Black Vault · documents.theblackvault.com · archived copy
- files.afu.se · files.afu.se · archived copy
- documents.theblackvault.com · documents.theblackvault.com · archived copy
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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