Big Sur UFO — Filmed During Atlas ICBM Test

In September 1964, a U.S. Army film unit was stationed at a remote tracking station in the Big Sur hills of California, tasked with filming an Atlas ICBM test launch from Vandenberg Air Force Base using high-powered tracking cameras.

Lt. Robert Jacobs, who commanded the film unit, later reported that when the 35mm footage was developed and reviewed, it showed a disc-shaped object flying up alongside the ICBM at altitude and orbiting it. The object then appeared to fire four beams or pulses of light — two from the top and two from the bottom — at the warhead section of the missile. The missile subsequently tumbled and its reentry vehicle veered off course, causing the test to fail.

Jacobs reported being called into the office of Dr. Florenz Mansmann, his scientific superior, where the footage was screened. Mansmann told Jacobs the object was unidentified. Two men in civilian clothes — described as CIA agents — were present, took the film, and Jacobs was instructed to attribute the test failure to other causes if asked.

Jacobs first came forward publicly in 1982. His superior Dr. Mansmann independently confirmed the account, stating he had indeed seen the footage and that the object "appeared to be a classic disc." Mansmann confirmed the presence of the two civilians and the classification of the material. The footage itself has never been publicly released. The Big Sur case represents one of the most technically credible instances of apparent UAP interaction with U.S. nuclear delivery systems.