The Condon Report

November 1968 — University of Colorado

Overview

The "Scientific Study of Unidentified Flying Objects," commonly known as the Condon Report after its director Dr. Edward Condon, was a study conducted at the University of Colorado from 1966 to 1968, funded by a $500,000 US Air Force grant. It remains the only major academic study of UFOs funded by the US government.

Internal Contradictions

The Condon Report is notable for the stark contradiction between its summary conclusions and its individual case analyses. While Condon's summary stated that further study of UFOs was unlikely to yield scientific advancement, roughly 30% of the cases examined by his own team were left unexplained, with some case investigators concluding that certain sightings appeared to involve genuinely anomalous phenomena.

The Trick Memo

Internal conflict plagued the project from early on. A leaked memo from project coordinator Robert Low suggested the study could be structured to reach a negative conclusion while appearing objective: "The trick would be, I think, to describe the project so that, to the public, it would appear a totally objective study." This memo, published by journalist John Fuller, severely damaged the study's credibility.

Impact

Despite its controversial methodology, the Condon Report achieved its institutional purpose: it provided the justification for closing Project Blue Book in 1969 and removing the Air Force from official UFO investigation. The National Academy of Sciences endorsed the report's conclusions, effectively freezing mainstream scientific engagement with the UFO topic for nearly fifty years — until the 2017 revelations about AATIP reopened the discussion.