NASA Employees Expose Culture of Secrecy
- Cristina Gomez
- 1 day ago
- 3 min read
NASA Employees Expose Culture of Secrecy
As NASA prepares to hold a media briefing November 19th at 3pm Eastern, on the interstellar object 3I/ATLAS, questions about the agency’s transparency have resurfaced following decades of suspicious live feed interruptions. The International Space Station broadcasts a continuous feed watched by millions, yet observers have documented a troubling pattern: objects appear on camera, then the feed suddenly cuts to a blue screen with NASA citing technical difficulties.
According to CBS News coverage from July 2016, one of the most publicized incidents occurred when an object appeared on the ISS feed seemingly entering Earth’s atmosphere. NASA spokesman Daniel Huot explained the interruption as routine, stating the station regularly passes out of range of tracking and data relay satellites. However, this explanation raises concerns given NASA’s annual budget exceeds $20 billion, leaving many to question why technical failures occur so consistently when unidentified objects are visible. NASA maintains in official responses that reflections from station windows, spacecraft structures, and lights from Earth commonly create visual effects, insisting no unidentifiable objects have been seen from the ISS. Yet archived footage tells a different story, with dozens of documented incidents where the timing cannot be dismissed as mere coincidence.
Investigative journalist Ross Coulthart provided compelling firsthand testimony on NewsNation, describing an incident he witnessed during a VIP tour of the Marshall Space Center two years ago. While viewing the ISS live feeds with the center’s director, Coulthart and his colleague observed eight or nine egg-shaped objects moving in formation behind the space station. When Coulthart asked if they were Starlink satellites, the director turned to look at the feed, saw the objects, then looked through the window into the main control room where personnel immediately cut the transmission. Coulthart stated he previously thought claims about NASA cutting feeds were nonsense until he witnessed it happen directly in front of him.
One of the most scrutinized incidents in space exploration history occurred on February 25, 1996, during Space Shuttle Columbia’s STS-75 mission. A 12-mile experimental tether designed to generate electricity from Earth’s magnetic field unexpectedly broke, and NASA’s cameras captured numerous disc-shaped luminous objects moving around the broken tether. Some appeared to change direction and seemingly pass behind the tether, which would make them miles in diameter given its length. Astronaut Franklin Chang-Diaz described the objects as debris illuminated by sunlight, while NASA attributed them to camera artifacts and ice particles from a pre-deployment water dump. Despite these explanations, many who have analyzed the footage frame by frame remain unconvinced, and the STS-75 tether incident continues to generate debate decades later.
These transparency concerns are compounded by a recent Space.com investigation published on November 3, 2025, which revealed serious problems at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland. According to the investigation, nearly a dozen current and former NASA workers provided testimony about what they described as illegal activities by NASA leadership. The investigation found that NASA has been implementing the president’s 2026 budget request — which includes a 24% cut — before Congress finalized funding, which multiple sources claim violates federal law. Reference a committee report released by U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell on September 29, NASA’s actions represent an unconstitutional attempt to circumvent Congress’s authority. One engineer, identified only as Wendy to protect her from retribution, stated that management avoids putting directives in writing because they know what they are doing should not be documented. More than 4,000 NASA employees signed up for early resignation programs, with Goddard losing approximately 17% of its workforce.
As NASA holds today’s briefing on 3I/ATLAS at 3 p.m. Eastern, Acting Administrator Sean Duffy insists the object is simply a comet, stating it exhibits all the characteristics of a comet with an icy nucleus and a coma of gas and dust. However, Harvard astrophysicist Avi Loeb has raised questions about whether 3I/ATLAS warrants closer examination beyond standard comet classification. While NASA has firmly rejected this perspective publicly, the debate highlights larger questions about how the agency handles unexplained phenomena. With a history of suspicious feed cuts, firsthand witness testimony from credible journalists, and an internal culture of secrecy revealed by its own employees, NASA faces legitimate questions about its commitment to transparency as it briefs the public on this interstellar visitor.
Sources
Dinner, J. (2025, November 3). NASA is sinking its flagship science center during the government shutdown — and may be breaking the law in the… Space. https://www.space.com/space-exploration/nasa-is-sinking-its-flagship-science-center-during-the-government-shutdown-and-may-be-breaking-the-law-in-the-process
NASA explains what happened to video feed of mysterious “UFO.” (2016, July 14). CBS News. https://www.cbsnews.com/news/nasa-accused-of-cutting-live-feed-of-mysterious-ufo/
NASA to share Comet 3I/ATLAS images from spacecraft, telescopes — NASA. (n.d.). NASA. https://www.nasa.gov/news-release/nasa-to-share-comet-3i-atlas-images-from-spacecraft-telescopes/?utm_source=TWITTER&utm_medium=NASA&utm_campaign=NASASocial&linkId=879164498
Newsmax. (2025, November 13). Extraterrestrial lifeforms isn’t just some “crazy conspiracy theory”: Rep. Anna Paulina Luna [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AZaS1_pIcxo
NewsNation. (2025, October 19). Ross Coulthart Q&A: What is NASA hiding? | Reality Check [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pIhbAPbAg24
STS-75 — NASA. (n.d.). NASA. https://www.nasa.gov/mission/sts-75/
