YOU TELL ME: THE BLACK KNIGHT SATELLITE REEMERGES…OR DOES IT?

Here's a fun story, and occasionally, we have to have some fun here, especially given all that's going on in the world. This article was shared by Mr. C.N., and it concerns the legend of the Black Knight satellite:

Amateur Astronomer Swears He Spotted the Alien “Black Knight Satellite”

Now, as the article points out, the Black Knight Satellite has been something of a legend within ufology circles since the early 1950s, when its "presence" was first disclosed or revealed by famous ufologist Major Donald Keyhoe:

The Black Knight Satellite mystery originated in 1954 when newspapers including the St. Louis Post Dispatch and the San Francisco Examiner ran stories attributed to retired naval aviation major and UFO researcher Donald Keyhoe saying that the US Air Force had reported that two satellites orbiting Earth had been detected. At this time no one had the technology to launch a satellite. An object photographed in 1998 during the STS-88 mission has been widely claimed to be this “alien artifact.” Experts maintain that it’s probably space garbage or an orbiting meteorite.

The legend has been dismissed, by and large, by scientists and government spokesmen and even in ufology, since its 1954 "disclosure" by Keyhoe. It's current reincarnation comes courtesy of Mr. Keith Brandenshauer of Alta Sierra, California:

Local amateur cryptozoologist, paranormal investigator, SciFi Channel fan and amateur astronomer Keith Bradenshauer of Alta Sierra, CA  swears he spotted the illusive “Black Knight Satellite” using his Meade™ Telescope on Wednesday night. The mysterious satellite is an alleged object orbiting Earth in near-polar orbit that ufologists and others believe is about 13,000 years old and of extraterrestrial origin.

“I was out trying to spot the International Space Station,” said an excited and earnest Mr. Bradenshauer in a Scooper telephone interview, “when I saw the Black Knight pass in front of the moon. I only had a few seconds to zoom in on it, but I got it.”

What interests me here are the assumptions made - as they so often are within ufology - that the mysterious object is ipso facto extraterrestrial in origin simple because of the date of its alleged discovery and revelation by Keyhoe. Let's assume for the sake of argument, that Mr. Brandenshauer's find is legitimate, and that he did indeed find a "something", and that this "something" is indeed a satellite that has been there since 1954, before either the United States or Soviet Union had the technology - so we are told- to orbit anything, much less something that large and in a polar orbit!

It's that "so we're told" that is the rub, for it should be clear by now - at least to most regular readers here, or readers of my or other authors' books - that there is a body of evidence that suggests that there has been in existence, for quite some time, hidden or secret space programs, dating at least to World War Two, and, if the research of Tim Busby or Walter Bosley into the 19th century airship mysteries are any indicators, much longer than that. In other words, if genuine, the object's existence may point to something quite hidden.

And that's also another rub, for the verdict is still out on the whole issue, and is likely to remain so, for photographs can be photoshopped, or explained away by various techniques that we know all too well. The real question for me remains, why did Keyhoe tell this story(or, depending on your interpretation, reveal it) in the first place? What were his motivations? Sources? And how did the satellite - if genuine - get discovered in the first place?

See you on the flip side...

Posted in

Joseph P. Farrell

Joseph P. Farrell has a doctorate in patristics from the University of Oxford, and pursues research in physics, alternative history and science, and "strange stuff". His book The Giza DeathStar, for which the Giza Community is named, was published in the spring of 2002, and was his first venture into "alternative history and science".

18 Comments

  1. Solfeggio on August 30, 2015 at 9:34 pm

    I have to agree with Dr. Farrell that it is all about assumptions. Might want to look into polar orbits for one “little” assumption. 😉

    We must all question everything now, and that begins with the priesthood of science. Set up as infallible, therein lies much of our Earth’s greatest mysteries waiting to be discovered.

    People are afraid to question WWII; how will they question Gravity, relativity, or those things we just KNOW are locked in as trusted explicit knowledge?



  2. goshawks on August 28, 2015 at 3:22 pm

    Just a note on polar orbits. These orbits are no harder planning and executing than standard orbits. Simply change the direction the rocket is ’tilting’ as it rises from East to North. Simple.

    Where it gets hard is in the amount of propellant needed, and hence the mass-fraction to orbit. Standard orbits take advantage of Earth’s rotational velocity to get a partial ‘throw’ into orbit. Free velocity ‘boost’. Polar orbits cannot take advantage of this ‘freebie’, and so will loft a much smaller payload for a given rocket.

    Polar rocketry is not more technical, just more expensive to orbit a given payload…

    (The Black Knight Satellite ‘mystery’ is indeed interesting…)



  3. WalkingDead on August 28, 2015 at 9:00 am

    Black bodies are hard to identify from earth with small telescopes, so it would seem reasonable it would not have been discovered early on by astronomers with their small telescopes and inferior optics. This would be one reason it was not discovered until rather recently.
    It is also rumored that it has been observed to alter its orbit and sometimes vanish entirely at times which would seem to argue its artificiality; indicating that it has self guidance capabilities.
    Its size would seem to indicate that we were not capable of orbiting it at the time of its discovery without the likelihood of some secret space program, which seems to be ongoing.
    If it is a natural object, captured by earths gravity, it would seem likely that its orbit would have decayed by now without some method of maintaining that orbit as orbital velocity alone wont do it.
    Whether natural or artificial, it would seem likely that the US and Russia would have, at least, checked it out by now, unless it has some means of self defense. If a natural object, I doubt we would be informed of it, as it would serve nicely into some agendas (Von Brauns’ final threat, for instance). If artificial, we would not be informed of it for the obvious reasons.
    The arguments for its artificiality from both high antiquity and recent space programs have some merit. If it was indeed mentioned in ancient texts, the argument for it being a natural object are minimized. The arguments for it as a natural object have less merit due to the high likelihood of its inability to maintain orbit for the extended period of time it has been observed.
    Its appearance, from the photos I have seen, lend credence to both the artificial or natural object meme. Short of going up there yourself and checking it out, I doubt we will ever be informed if its true nature for the reasons stated above.
    The Black Knight myth does make for some interesting conversations though…



  4. yankee phil on August 27, 2015 at 10:50 pm

    An asteroid or meteor fragment captured into our gravitational field much like our moon,arguably also being helped into such orbit’s, but most certainly captured by the earths gravity and kept there. If it was anything else the shuttle missions would have explored it completely,perhaps having done so actually,and seen if there was anything other than the normal natural matter you find in space. Can be there is ancient space junk orbiting earth but we’ll never know for sure till space travel is part of civilian business as well as the military’s and people can check out ugly rumors and secret space operations……or will space become private property and no trespassing by the citizenry….is it already a restricted area and we just haven’t been told in so many words. I watch Branson’s Virgin projects with great interest, will his next attempt be doomed in one manner or another.



  5. Blue Dragon Lord on August 27, 2015 at 6:58 pm

    Well this has always been fascinating remember Nicko Tesla he reported this in 1899 so the SSP had nothing to do with this other had reported this that was where the 13,000 years came from old scroll had mentioned it when it got it name ‘black knight’ the British had a black knight program running and people thought it was something to do with them and we all know how labels stick.

    Love the reference with Philip K Dick brilliant man and writer but was watching blade runner the other day and the saying that the replicants were being retired well he just may have he did great research i heard so this has been around a long time.

    Now whether people want to believe or not that this is say that old 13,000 years or even one hundred years and more and back engineered as stated by some well really this is old not from the locals as they are now anyway.

    Keyhole the good major he always thought full disclosure was the best way to go from the beginning of this mess and on reflection he was right so whatever this is and with this polar orbiting now that is some technology i heard it said by an admiral once that is some accomplishment just there they still cannot do it as far as i know.

    For one i am glad it is still up there it reminds us all perhaps in some small way that even the skeptics someone is watching over us no one every tried to take it out or could not and they shot down satellites all the time for invasion of the aliens false flag scenario right it has been reported here so why not this they plot its course all the time as they are just as curious as the rest of us. When it passed by the ISS a couple of years ago it caused a big flap why one wonders they knew where it was was going to be and the now famous cut the live feed it not come into play that day so as it is there they are using it as part of their theatrics obvious is it not.



    • Blue Dragon Lord on September 1, 2015 at 2:39 am

      Well as i was curious about the being attacked in the past question i posed myself i searched and found a report that the Black Knight satellite had been fired upon in the past and it self repaired itself which is very interesting baring in mind an earlier article posted on this site talking about black ops funding for the same such technology as self repairing station in obit one wonders where they got that idea now perhaps this is the answer to that question posed.



  6. basta on August 27, 2015 at 3:37 pm

    I love the Black Knight mystery; it’s one of the mythical/foundational stories of UFOlogy, up there with Roswell and Dulce, and reportedly backed up by astronomical and radar observations by various countries during a period before even Sputnik was in orbit. You have the requisite, unverifiable old clippings from Time and defunct newspapers; the unprovable military testimnies, and the spectacular, compelling “evidence.” True gold.

    Supposedly, BK was discovered in a polar orbit some two decades before this was achieved by humans, and was seen by Gordon Cooper in 1963, and has the ability to change its orbit at will. And indeed, the story has come back in a big way recently.

    OK, fine. If the original report was disinformation by Keyhoe, what was he hiding/obfuscating with it? Certainly by any measure, the US in the early 50s could not even reach space, let alone achieve the complex polar orbit claimed of Black Knight. What is so extraordinary about this story is that complex polar orbit, put forward by Keyhoe so many years before any human technology capable of achieving it, and that does make one pause. That he even knew that a polar orbit could be achieved in that period is in itself rather impressive.

    But what dilutes the story are the myriad later claims: it seems half of subsequent UFO reports were pinned on BK in one way or another, and still today you have reports that anything observed at an orbital level and unknown must be the BK.



  7. loisg on August 27, 2015 at 9:43 am

    Ancient alien drone spy satellite! What else could it be??

    Seriously, though, that thing looks like a piece of junk, as I don’t see how the thing could keep a straight orbit if it tried. Any pictures of supposed alien ships are always symmetrical in some way, circular, cigar-shaped, the left side mirrors the right side in some fashion, but this is just a haphazard arrangement that looks like it must have fallen off of some larger project. So I don’t think it’s even a government satellite.

    Why did Keyhoe tell this story? I’m wondering what else was going on at the time, perhaps this was a diversion from the real events of the day. Or perhaps they found something a lot further out in the solar system, and didn’t want to admit they knew that, so they pointed to this instead, in order to get the meme started…weapons will be needed against these space intruders.



  8. Aridzonan_13 on August 27, 2015 at 9:21 am

    There is a theory that states as the consciousness of the planet evolves so does the physics. Where in, lets say Atlantis or Ancient Egypt, occult / technical practices and protocols of that era no longer apply to the present day. Hence, the PTB’s never ending assault on the Positive Mental Attitude of humanity. This is their greatest fear. IMVHO, at some point, there could be a Gnostic 2nd coming. Where large groups of individuals ascend En Mass into a Christos, Buddha etc level of awareness. If the true history of our planet would come to light, it would greatly accelerate our ascension. And the PTB would lose all control.



    • Guygrr on August 27, 2015 at 10:37 am

      Whom can say such an ascension would be genuine and not orchestrated via technology? Or rather what if such an ascension should have already taken place, but is being blocked by the PtB via technology?

      My other question is, was Philip K Dick aware of the black knight satellite meme before writing VALIS or did he come up with the idea on his own?



      • Robert Barricklow on August 27, 2015 at 1:39 pm

        I wonder if he had some contacts that gave him some info now & again from which he formed his own high-octane speculations in his writings?



    • Occult Fan on August 27, 2015 at 3:08 pm

      In a sense, Sophia’s Correction, izzatright? I’m all for something as such, I do believe, though, I am so lowly an ‘adept’ at this point that neophyte might be ‘more right’… or even less… But I am on The Path. As we are all, it seems, who frequent GDS. Man. I love the idea of us raising our frequency. I don’t know if you join the vidchats, but I heavily recommend the word of Sevan Bomar at SecretEnergy, AstralQuest.

      And if it IS the Black Knight, shouldn’t we send King Arthur after it? He’s the original Gandalf, and he’ll bite your kneecaps off! I don’t see the satellite having any arms or legs, so it’s also very likely this is what inspired Monty Python, and that is sound logic.



      • Occult Fan on August 27, 2015 at 3:12 pm

        The work of* – to finish the reason for checking it out, he has a laundry list of amazing info, and he is very focused on lifting positive thought, of holistically manifesting our greatest spiritual self possible. His store also has an amazing array of Ayurvedic supplements and organ cleaning supplements. Here’s one cool thing I learned from him – you have to flush your organs in the proper order to avoid dumping toxins form one to the next.

        Also I learned that as far as the ethics of vegetarianism – If it runs away from you when you try to eat it, you are not allowed (spiritually) to eat it. Ice cream is still allowed, so I say vegetarianism is aok. Been at that for almost a fortnight now. No booze, no nothing. So, it’s that ancient truth, We reap what we sew.



        • Occult Fan on August 27, 2015 at 3:13 pm

          From* and that’s it.



  9. Robert Barricklow on August 27, 2015 at 9:04 am

    I’m not in the alien camp on this one. There is a terrestrial origin; albeit, with advanced technologies possibly derived from ancient alien sources.
    But even the terrestrial sources; besides the usual suspects, have many hidden known/unknown players. The field is becoming saturated. Then there are the bona fide “aliens”, and even “they” are, perhaps, more than can be imagined.
    The Black Knight conveniently plays into the aliens;
    not an unseen extrastate, like a Nazi International.



  10. marcos toledo on August 27, 2015 at 8:13 am

    Atlantis anyone the remnant of a ancient civilization perhaps the possibility is endless.



  11. WalkingDead on August 27, 2015 at 6:04 am

    Another question would be: if it does indeed exist, why haven’t we at least visited it yet?
    If it exists; if it is as old as claimed; and we have visited it, do you think we would be informed of this? Highly unlikely.



    • Blue Dragon Lord on August 27, 2015 at 7:20 pm

      Good questions posed there as usual WalkingDead now think of it like an observer it goes over the poles right so follow that line of thinking say if it was human in origin to see how the magnetic shield was holding up that hole over both pole would be something of a concern right. Say this event we keep hearing about is this solar planet killer flare if so then that would be the best place to put a satellite to see how it is holding up sure makes sense.

      i was watching a solar weather report the other month June in fact some major concerns with increased activity on the local star Sol and even there the said some of these admission would effect the magnetic shield way beyond cell phone disruption and white on the TV set but long term weakened so when and even large flare come direct well you do the maths interesting and just an observation.



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