Ex-NASA Staffer Claims Astronaut Who Perished in Challenger Shuttle Disaster 'Saw Corpses of Aliens Killed in Roswell UFO Crash'
A former NASA staffer claimed one of the Challenger astronauts was shown a 'video of alien corpses.'
Jan. 28 2026, Published 2:45 p.m. ET
A former NASA staffer has claimed one of the astronauts on board the Challenger space shuttle saw footage of alien corpses that perished in a UFO crash, RadarOnline.com can reveal.
Forty years ago, on January 28, 1986, the nation gathered to watch the Space Shuttle Challenger launch, a historic mission carrying the first "teacher in space," Christa McAuliffe. But 73 seconds into the space shuttle's 10th mission, disaster struck.
An O-ring failure caused the spacecraft to explode over the Atlantic Ocean. All seven crew members – including McAuliffe, Francis R. Scobee, Michael J. Smith, Judith A. Resnik, Ellison S. Onizuka, Ronald E. McNair, and Gregory B. Jarvis – were killed in the blast.
Ex-NASA Staffer Recalls Astronaut Onizuka's Claims About Video of 'Alien Corpses'
Clark McClelland claimed Ellison S. Onizuka told him the story while training for a mission.
Years after the tragedy, former NASA staffer Clark McClelland claimed his late colleague, Onizuka, once told him a startling story about aliens while preparing for a mission.
McClelland, who worked as an operator in the Space Shuttle program, recounted Onizuka's claims in an article titled "Alien Disclosure from an Astronaut."
Onizuka's tale began with the now-famous 1947 UFO encounter in Roswell, New Mexico.
The U.S. government claimed it recovered remains from a 1947 UFO crash in New Mexico, but recanted the statement a day later.
The U.S. military had jolted the world that year by saying it had found the remains of a UFO that crash-landed in the New Mexico desert. But the next day, the government flipped its stance and claimed the object was actually a giant balloon.
In the decades since the infamous crash, witnesses and researchers have come forward with tales of how aliens really were found at the site – and claims of the debris being tightly guarded at Area 51 Air Force base.
The ex-NASA operator's account alleges Onizuka opened up about what he witnessed after first asking McClelland about his views on intelligent extraterrestrial life.
Onizuka was alleged among a group of USAF members shown a video of a 'medical examination room with small bodies.'
McClelland recalled his late co-worker having "a surprising experience along with other U.S. Air Force aerospace flight engineers and pilots while on military training duty" several years before his astronaut training.
"He and this group were at this base for specialized training when they were directed to report to a viewing room," McClelland recalled Onizuka's story. "As they were seated, the room darkened, and a movie began without the usual official introduction by a USAF officer."
Onizuka's colleague said he was told the film shocked the audience with scenes of "what appeared to be some sort of medical examination room with small bodies lying on some sort of table or slab."
McClelland Says Onizuka Questioned If the Shocking Video 'Was a Psychological Test'
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McClelland recalled Onizuka describing the bodies as something that 'did not appear to be of earthly origin.'
"The small, strange-looking creatures were humanoid in shape and appeared similar to those described by alleged witnesses at the well-known Roswell site," he explained. "They all had large heads, large eyes, slight torsos, arms, and legs. They did not appear to be of earthly origin."
McClelland noted Onizuka saying the video "may have been a test" by the Air Force on the servicemen "to see how they reacted."
He recalled the late astronaut wondering, "Perhaps it was a planned USAF psychological test. NASA may have evaluated it in my selection as an astronaut in 1978. You know, what would my reaction be if I actually saw an alien?"
Onizuka said after the video played, the group was returned to their tasks and were not allowed to discuss what they saw.
Sadly, McClelland said he and Onizuka had plans to meet and discuss the video further, but never got the chance because of the 1986 disaster.
