NASA appointed Mark McInerney as Director of UAP Research on September 14, 2023, in response to the Independent Study Team report. McInerney previously served as NASA’s liaison to the DoD covering “limited UAP activities.” CRITICAL STRUCTURAL LIMITATION — BY DESIGN: The Independent Study Team was explicitly restricted to unclassified data only. As chair David Spergel noted: “Using unclassified data was essential for our team’s fact-finding.” The team did not have security clearances, so they could examine only the subset of military sightings that were unclassified. The most significant UAP data — including everything in Immaculate Constellation, the Schriever Wargames material, and SENTIENT AI detections — was completely unavailable to them. NASA’S UAP BUDGET IS CLASSIFIED: Associate Administrator Nicola Fox confirmed the UAP spending levels are tied to “preparations for future budget proposals and so they’re not something we discuss openly.” NASA presents as the most transparent government agency. Their UAP budget is classified. THREATS TO PANEL MEMBERS: The initial announcement refused to name McInerney, citing threats and online harassment the 16-member independent team had received while conducting their 12-month assessment. NELSON SAW CLASSIFIED FOOTAGE: NASA Administrator Bill Nelson stated in the September 2023 press conference that during his “previous life in the Senate, he was privy to talk to the Navy pilots” and was shown “then-classified media for military assets that captured possible UAP.” Nelson’s public position: “no evidence for extraterrestrial origin.” His private experience: classified military UAP footage as a Senator. THE SNAKE ON THIS TAB: NASA’s public website (nasa.gov) projects openness, science, and wonder. The UAP program is structurally prevented from accessing the most significant classified data. The budget is hidden. The team received threats for looking too closely. The administrator has personally seen classified footage he is not discussing. NASA is the transparency fig leaf on a classified intelligence program. Source: nasa.gov / DefenseScoop Sept 14 2023 / SpaceNews / NASA press conference transcript