Carter Roy

You know the kind.

They go by many names.

UFO researchers, ufologists, paranormal investigators, sky watchers.

But no matter what title they use, they often raise eyebrows because they're not always seen as being credible.

I'm sure you've seen the ancient aliens meme guy, the one with the hair.

But this UFO story is different.

In February 1981, Betty Cash places a phone call to a man named John Schuessler.

He's a UFO guy, sure, but he's much more than that.

He works for NASA at the Johnson Space Center, where he's a flight manager overseeing a team of around 200 aerospace engineers.

He's currently preparing for what will be NASA's boldest flight yet, launching Space Shuttle Columbia on its maiden voyage, the first of many trips.

It will eventually famously disintegrate in 2003, leading to the deaths of seven astronauts.

But that's still more than two decades away.

John's Columbia voyage will go on to become the first orbital flight of a reusable spacecraft in history.

He'll spend two days in space, making 37 trips around the Earth, and the project's success will open the door for NASA's space shuttle program for decades to come.

So, pretty impressive.

John's interest in UFOs is separate from his work at NASA.

It started in the 60s, during the peak of UFO mania in the United States.

John thought he'd spend six months debunking a bunch of sightings and turn his research into a book.

But things didn't go as expected.

Sure, there were the wild claims that were easily discredited, but he ran into a few that he couldn't easily dismiss.