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James Edward Oberg (born November 7, 1944) is an American space journalist and historian, regarded as an expert on the Russian and Chinese space programs. Catscan archive homepage here. He had a 22-year career as a space engineer in NASA specializing in Space rendezvous. Oberg is an author of ten books and more than a thousand articles on space flight. He has provided multiple explanations of UFO phenomena for media outlets. He is also a consultant in spaceflight operations and safety.
He received a B.A. in Mathematics from Ohio Wesleyan University in 1966, a M.S. in applied mathematics (astrodynamics) from Northwestern University in 1969 (where he was also a NASA Trainee) and a M.S. in computer science from University of New Mexico in 1972.
During the 1990s, he was involved in NASA studies of the Soviet space program, with particular emphasis on safety aspects; these had often been covered up or downplayed, and with the advent of the ISS and the Shuttle– Mir programs, NASA was keen to study them as much as possible. He privately published several books on the Soviet (and later Russian) programs, and became one of the few Western specialists on Russian space history.
He has often been called to testify before the US Congress on the Russian space program.
In 1997 he voluntarily resigned from NASA and started a full-time free-lance career. Currently he works as a consultant in spaceflight operations and safety and as a space journalist.
He has written more than a thousand magazine and newspaper articles, including such magazines as The Wall Street Journal, USA Today, Scientific American, OMNI, Popular Science, Popular Mechanics, New Scientist, IEEE Spectrum, Air Force Magazine, Star and Sky, etc.
Oberg is also a space consultant and on-air commentator to NBC News, Discovery Canada and the BBC.
In December 1990, Horizon, a British television science and philosophy television documentary program, aired a three-part series, "Red Star in Orbit," based on Oberg's book of the same name. WGBH-TV adapted the Horizon series for its Nova television science series, a three-part miniseries titled "The Russian Right Stuff," which aired in February 1991. HBO has optioned Red Star in Orbit for a future production. Also in 1991, Oberg launched a battle for official recognition of Robert Henry Lawrence, Jr. (1935–1967) as a United States astronaut; the United States Air Force officially recognized Lawrence in January 1997, six years after Oberg had begun his campaign.
In 1999, Oberg wrote Space Power Theory, sponsored by United States military as a part of an official campaign in changing perceptions of space warfare, specifically deployment and use of weapons in outer space, and its political implications. "In Oberg's view, space is not an extension of air warfare but is unique in itself."
James Oberg is an author of ten books in addition to several technical NASA publications.
He also wrote encyclopedia articles on space exploration in the World Book Encyclopedia, Britannica yearbook, Grolier and Academic American Encyclopedia.
Oberg writes that Moon landing conspiracy theories are fueled by resentment of American culture by some countries. He gives the example of Cuba, where he claims many school teachers say the landing was a fraud. But besides this, the new wave of conspiracy theorists appear to use alternative publication methods to publicize their claims.
Oberg says that belief in the conspiracy is not the fault of the hoaxists, but rather of educators and people (including NASA) who should provide information to the public. NASA does not, in Oberg's opinion, provide an adequate reaction to the theorists' claims.
Oberg categorized UFO sightings, excluding those identified as hoaxes, into one of three groups:
In 2014 Oberg asked Samantha Cristoforetti, an Italian ISS astronaut, about the pistol and she admitted the gun is removed from the list, or more precisely, it is still on the official list of kit contents, but the committee meets before every mission to review the list and vote to remove the pistol for the specific flight.
He has a conversant knowledge of Russian language, French language and Latin language, and has some familiarity with German language, Swedish language, Spanish language, Kazakh language and Japanese.
Moon landing conspiracies
Oberg was commissioned by NASA to write a rebuttal of Apollo program Moon landing conspiracy theories. However, NASA dropped the project after ABC's World News Tonight program ran a story about it, claiming it was beneath NASA's dignity to respond to Moon landing Denialism claims. Oberg has said that he still intends to pursue the project, "depending on successfully arranging new funding sources." Reprinted in Kendrick Frazier (ed.) (2009). Science Under Siege: Defending Science, Exposing Pseudoscience. Amherst, NY: Prometheus Books. .
North Korean satellite launch inspection
In April 2012 Oberg traveled to North Korea as an NBC space consultant to observe the launching of the Kwangmyŏngsŏng-3 satellite and determine whether it is a military launch. Together with a team of journalistsKwangmyŏngsŏng-3#Media coverage he inspected the Sohae Satellite Launching Station, the Unha rocket and the satellite. According to Oberg, North Korea "showed everything but the important things" and did not manage to demonstrate peaceful intent.
UFO investigation
James Oberg often writes about alleged UFO sightings, giving scientific explanations to seemingly extraterrestrial phenomena, or otherwise debunking them as hoaxes.
List of UFO explanations
John Glenn in the Mercury program capsule saw three objects following and then overtaking the capsule Small space debris – "snowflakes" Scott Carpenter in Mercury-Atlas 7 photographs "a saucer" Tracking balloon ejected from the capsule X-15 pilot Joe Walton photographed five discs Complete fabrication by ; pilot's actual name was Joseph A. Walker X-15 pilot Robert Michael White photographed objects close to the plane Small objects, probably ice flakes from fuel tanks Walter Schirra on Mercury-Atlas 8 reported large glowing objects over the Indian Ocean Lightning-lit cloud masses, misquotations Gordon Cooper on Mercury-Atlas 9 reports a greenish UFO and other mysterious sightings Fabrications, misquotations Russian cosmonauts on Voskhod 2 report an UFO while entering Earth's atmosphere Probably man-made satellite Three Russian cosmonauts report being surrounded by fast moving discs Complete fabrication Gemini 4 UFOs Exaggerations and misquotations by ufologists Frank Borman and Jim Lovell on Gemini 7 photographed two oval-shaped UFOs Complete fabrication Kecksburg UFO incident Kosmos 96 satellite, explanation later disprovedKecksburg UFO incident#Kosmos 96 John Young and Michael Collins on Gemini 10 photographed a large cylindrical object accompanied by two smaller Fabrication – no photos were taken, astronauts reported bright fragments near their spacecraft, probably pieces of the booster of some other satellite Richard F. Gordon, Jr. and Pete Conrad on Gemini 11 report and photograph a yellow-orange UFO A satellite Jim Lovell and Buzz Aldrin on Gemini 12 report 4 UFOs linked in a row Discarded trash bags; misquotations Frank Borman and Jim Lovell on Apollo 8 report a "bogie" (an unidentified object) Misplaced quotations, pieces of debris associated with separation from the booster rocket Apollo 10 'space music' Radio interference between the Command Module and the Lunar Module landing vehicles Apollo 11 UFO incidents Complete fabrication of photos and transcripts; all data available to the public Pete Conrad, Alan Bean and Richard Gordon on Apollo 12 report a UFO preceding them on the path to the Moon Misunderstood the meaning of conversation with ground control; reflection of the Moon Skylab 3 UFO Photographs Space debris UFO observed over the Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory in Chile Kosmos 1164 launch from Plesetsk Cosmodrome UFO over Russia and then South America Kosmos 1188 satellite launch UFO over Argentina and Chile Kosmos 1317 satellite launch UFO observed in eastern Europe SS-X-25 ICBM test launch ; Phobos 2 spacecraft photographs mysterious structures on the surface of Mars Shadow of Phobos moon elongated due to slow acquisition of the image by scanning radiometer UFO observed by airline crews Re-entry of the Proton-K rocket carrying Gorizont 33 satellite across France and Germany STS-48: several objects appearing Ice particles hit by a thruster plume UFO observed by airline crews Launch of Progress M-21 spacecraft STS-80 unusual phenomena Nearby sunlit debris STS-88 "Black Knight" or "Phantom Satellite" Insulation blanket dropped by astronauts
Russian pistol aboard ISS
James Oberg wrote several articles as a publicity campaign to remove guns from the ISS. The TP-82 Cosmonaut survival pistol was stowed in the Soyuz programme emergency landing survival kit and was added there for hunting and self-defense after landing in inhospitable environment. It had three barrels and a folding stock that doubled as a shovel and contained a machete. The gun was only carried by Russian members of the ISS. Oberg suggested that it might be an invitation to a future disaster and proposed it to be put in a compartment accessible only from outside, after landing.
Private life
Oberg has been married since 1969 and lives with his wife Alcestis in Dickinson, Texas. He has two grown sons (born 1977 and 1984).
Awards and memberships
target="_blank" rel="nofollow"> Archived from the original on 6 November 2023.
Bibliography
Popular publications
(1979). 9780890245392, Kalmbach Publishing Company. ISBN 9780890245392
(1986). 9780070480391, McGraw-Hill. ISBN 9780070480391
Other books
Technical materials for NASA
External links
Categories: American Male Journalists, Journalists From New York City, United States Air Force Airmen, 1944 Births, Living People, Military Personnel From New York City, Northwestern University Alumni, Ohio Wesleyan University Alumni, University Of New Mexico Alumni, American Skeptics, Nasa People, Ufo Skeptics, Writers From New York City, People From Dickinson, Texas
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