Project Moon Dust

Hi readers

In reading the FOIA documents on the various CIA/DIA/NSA websites, you sometimes come across a reference to "PROJECT MOON DUST." I thought I'd take some time to see what I could track down on this Project for my own curiosity.

The June 1986 (number 8) issue of the "JUST CAUSE" Newsletter (click here) contained an item on Project Moon Dust. The article referred to work undertaken by researcher Robert Todd, who in 1979 received a document released by the USAF. The document was identified as AFCIN-1E-0, and dated 3 November 1961.

Although the document had deletions, the following could be made out:

* "...in addition to their staff duty assignment, intelligence team personnel have peacetime duty functions in support of such Air Force projects as Moondust, Bluefly and UFO..."

* "Blue Fly has been established to facilitate expeditious delivery to FTD of Moon Dust or other items of great technical intelligence interest. AFCIN SOP for Blue Fly operations, February 1960, provides for 1127th participation."

* "As a specilized aspect of its over all material exploitation program, Headquarters USAF has established Project Moon Dust to locate, recover and deliver descended foreign space vehicles. ICGL # 4, 25 April 1961, delineates collection responsibilities."

* "Peacetime employment of AFCIN intelligence team capability is provided for in UFO investigation (AFR 200-2) and in support of Air Force Systems Command (AFSC) Foreign Technology Division (FTD) Project Moon Dust and Blue Fly...These three peacetime projects all involve a potential for employment of qualified field intelligence personnel on a quick reaction basis to recover or perform field exploitation of unidentified flying objects, or known Soviet/bloc aerospace vehicles..."

I located a website (click here) which had the text of the 25 April 1961 document - titled US Air Force Intelligence Guidance Collection Letter 4.

Its subject was Moon Dust reporting in "...response to Moon Dust alerts."

* Headquarters USAF initiates Moon Dust alerts-based on anticipated foreign satellite re-entries

* Interested personnel collect information on sightings of such re-entries. The document lists the kind of information which should be collected and forward and included the position of the observer, what was seen falling to earth etc

* Reports, citing "...the unclassified nickname Moon Dust should be sent to:

- Headquarters USAF (AFCIN)

- ATIC (AFCIN-4A) Wright Patterson, Ohio

- Space track R orbital debris; policy formulations for above; discussions of hazards and liability due to falling space debris; clarification of NASA's role in relation to other government agencies and its role overseas; some Project Moon Dust documents; Gemini and Apollo missions; correspondence and meeting files. Files from the State Department included UFO cases and reports of sightings. These documents shed light on the history of the time, but overall, that's as far as they went."

"However, some documents did reveal interesting bits of information, even if not about Kecksburg. For example, a one page "memo for record" was prepared by Richard Schullherr, a NASA engineer whose responsibilities included fragology (he was custodian of the fragology files) and who was a liaison to Project Moon Dust, the federal program involving the retrieval of space debris and objects of unknown origin. Dated January 18, 1969, the memo records a visit Schulherr made to the Foreign Technology Division (FTD) of the Air Force Systems Command at Wright Patterson AFB. The purpose was to identify some space debris which had been sent to

NASA, and to "re-establish personal liaison with newly assigned FTD Moondust personnel" headed by Lt. Robert McGill."