Swedish "Ghost Rockets" UFO expedition comes to an end

For those of you who haven't yet heard, here's a sitrep.

A few days ago, a link showed up on PirateBay, to a website designed by UFO Sweden, quite possibly one of the best, most dedicated, and most importantly, most balanced/scientific UFO organizations in the world. The website was the precursor to an expedition to a lake in northern Sweden, where a "Ghost rocket" type UFO had supposedly crashed in the 80's.

Today, Clas Svahn, journalist at prominent Swedish newspaper Dagens Nyheter (DN), director of UFO Sweden, and head of the expedition, informed the public that the expedition had finished - for now. While the lake itself was not deep, only five to ten meters at worst, the bottom was covered by several meters of mud, that made it impossible for the expedition to continue the search with the equipment they had brought. This, unfortunately, brought a sudden and far too quick end to a promising expedition.

However, Clas Svahn says, in the blog for the expedition in Dagens Nyheter, that they will return when they have the funds, with different equipment. So, we should all stay tuned for that in the next few months. I personally am hoping that they will set up a fundraiser of sorts so that the expedition will happen sooner rather than later.

ABOUT GHOST ROCKETS

Wiki

Ghost rockets (Swedish: Spökraketer, also called Scandinavian ghost rockets) were rocket- or missile-shaped unidentified flying objects sighted in 1946, mostly in Sweden and nearby countries. The first reports of ghost rockets were made on February 26, 1946, by Finnish observers. About 2,000 sightings were logged between May and December 1946, with peaks on 9 and 11 August 1946. Two hundred sightings were verified with radar returns, and authorities recovered physical fragments which were attributed to ghost rockets. Investigations concluded that many ghost rocket sightings were probably caused by meteors.

For example, the peaks of the sightings, on the 9 and 11 August 1946, also fall within the peak of the annual Perseid meteor shower. However, most ghost rocket sightings did not occur during meteor shower activity, and furthermore displayed characteristics inconsistent with meteors, such as reported maneuverability. Debate continues as to the origins of the unidentified ghost rockets. In 1946, however, it was thought likely that they originated from the former German rocket facility at Peenemünde, and were long-range tests by the Russians of captured German V-1 or V-2 missiles, or perhaps another early form of cruise missile because of the ways they were sometimes seen to maneuver.

This prompted the Swedish Army to issue a directive stating that newspapers were not to report the exact location of ghost rocket sightings, or any information regarding the direction or speed of the object. This information, they reasoned, was vital for evaluation purposes to the nation or nations performing the tests. However, some investigators for the Swedish military apparently believed the objects could not be conventionally explained, and instead hypothesized an extraterrestrial origin.

Links

Facebook Page

Ghost Rockets Website

UFO Sweden's Website

Clas Svahn's Blog (In Swedish)

An article in English about the expedition

reply to post by Gauss


In 1946, however, it was thought likely that they originated from the former German rocket facility at Peenemünde, and were long-range tests by the Russians of captured German V-1 or V-2 missiles, or perhaps another early form of cruise missile because of the ways they were sometimes seen to maneuver.

This certainly seems the most likely explanaton, I wonder why they decided it is more then that.

reply to post by Char-Lee


From what I've understood there are several reasons this would be unlikely. One of the main reasons, obviously, is that in 1946 alone, over 2000 reports came in! It's unlikely that rocket tests would reach even a fraction of that number, not to mention sending them into Sweden like this. Consider also that those 2000 spanned over the whole year, making it likely that these were not the same incidents being reported several times.

There is also the part about these Ghost rockets never having been found. There's been so many reports of them being crashed, but none were ever found.

Add to that the fact that the ghost rocket sightings didn't just happen in 1946, but continued throughout the Cold War, and even today, as well as the fact there's been some strange reports in regard to their movements, including reports of them stopping and hovering in mid-air.

So, personally - while I can obviously understand where that explanation stems from - I find that it is unlikely when you look at it closer.

Likewise these Ghost rockets were reported in other countries....
The baltic ones i think......this is deep and enduring mystery i will keep my eye on for as long as theres any news of it....
This is one of the most widely reported early UFO flaps.....and the facts are strange indeed.............