DOE files, Sandia / Pajarito / PANTEX, 1948-1950
Three previously-classified Department of Energy files covering 1948 to 1950 sightings near the United States' core nuclear weapons sites (Sandia, Los Alamos / Pajarito, and PANTEX). Released through PURSUE Release 02 on May 22, 2026.
The original photographs, video, audio, and supporting documents for this case are hosted by the originating agency. Direct embedding will be added to this page as the corpus is mirrored into our reference archive.
PURSUE portal ↗Official description
DOE-UAP-D001 (PANTEX Image, Texas), DOE-UAP-D002 (James Tuck Correspondence, Los Alamos lead physicist), DOE-UAP-D003 (Pajarito Astronomers, New Mexico). All three originate from the Atomic Energy Commission's internal site-security and scientific-staff correspondence files. James Tuck was a senior Manhattan Project physicist who led Los Alamos's nuclear-weapon initiation work. The Pajarito correspondence involves Los Alamos staff astronomers reporting daylight observations near the laboratory's outdoor test facilities.
Editor's context
Sightings near nuclear-weapons sites in 1948-1950 are a well-attested historical pattern; the Robertson Panel later cited them in 1953 as one of the categories warranting AEC and DoD coordination. What is new in PURSUE Release 02 is the release of the underlying AEC-side correspondence, which was held under DOE classification (and successor agencies' classification) for over seven decades. The release also marks the Department of Energy's first contribution to PURSUE.
In the margins
Transcribed redactions, stamps, and handwritten markings, the paratext of the file. Often the most human part of a declassified document, and worth reading on its own.
- Stampp. every pageATOMIC ENERGY COMMISSION, CLASSIFIED
- StampDECLASSIFIED PER PURSUE, May 22, 2026
- AnnotationFirst Department of Energy contribution to the PURSUE catalog.
- AnnotationJames Tuck: senior Los Alamos Manhattan-Project physicist, lead on nuclear-weapon initiation. His correspondence is the most-cited primary in this set.
- AnnotationPajarito Plateau: site of Los Alamos's outdoor nuclear-weapon test fixtures during the late 1940s and early 1950s.
Cite the primary source
Citations center the originating government agency and link to the official record. This archive is listed as the access point, not the author.
U.S. Government. "DOE files, Sandia / Pajarito / PANTEX, 1948-1950." Released via PURSUE program, 2026-05-22. File ID: PURSUE DOE-UAP-D001 / D002 / D003. https://web.archive.org/web/2026/https://www.war.gov/medialink/ufo/052226/release_02/DOE-UAP-D001_PANTEX_Image.pdf. Accessed 2026-06-17 via Social Media for Aliens archive, https://socialmediaforaliens.com/files/doe-sandia-pajarito-pantex-1948-1950.
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