Fastwalker
From the UAP Encyclopedia, the open encyclopedia of UFO and UAP history · 📖 Term
Contents 5
| Type | Term |
|---|---|
| Also known as | fastwalkers, fast walker, fast walkers |
| On the Timeline | 4 events, 1984–2015 |
Fastwalker is a military term for an unidentified object detected by U.S. early-warning satellites, popularly described as an object entering or leaving the atmosphere at very high speed. The related term slowwalker refers to slower unknown objects. Because the records remain classified, the terms have become a focus of UFO speculation.[1][2]
Origin
The terms are associated with NORAD and the Defense Support Program (DSP), a network of infrared early-warning satellites that has formed the space-based part of NORAD's missile-attack warning system since 1970. According to one account, "fast walker" was the name given to detections of unknown satellites and "slow walker" to unknown aircraft; analysts have suggested that most fastwalkers are foreign or other satellites briefly passing through a DSP satellite's field of view.[1][2]
The 1984 case
The best-known fastwalker was detected on 5 May 1984, when a DSP satellite tracked an object that reportedly passed within about 20 miles of it. Reports say the event produced a lengthy internal report, most of which is still classified. Some researchers have suggested that the object was a U.S. satellite left in an unplanned orbit by a launch failure earlier that year, but this has not been officially confirmed.[2]
Secrecy
In 2013, in response to a Freedom of Information request from researcher John Greenewald for any Air Force rules referring to fastwalkers or slowwalkers, U.S. Northern Command replied that all NORAD material on the subject was classified and withheld it. UFO websites often present fastwalkers as evidence of alien craft, but the term is an operational label for any unidentified detection rather than a confirmed category of anomaly.[1][2]
On the UAP Timeline
.jpg)
- DSP "fast walker" detection (1984) (5 May 1984) — An anonymous source says a U.S. spy satellite detected a UAP passing close by.
- Osedacz thesis on fastwalkers (1989) (June 1989) — An Air Force captain writes that a database of UAP in near-Earth orbit has long existed.
- America West Flight 564 sighting (25 May 1995) — An airliner crew and an F-117 both see a huge cigar-shaped object over the Southwest.
- Bob Fish email on DSP data (6 March 2015) — A former contractor tells John Podesta an Air Force satellite system collects hard UAP data.
References
- "Fastwalkers & Slowwalkers", The Black Vault · theblackvault.com · archived copy
- "Fastwalkers", CosmoQuest Forum · forum.cosmoquest.org · 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.
No discussion yet.