Expert Thinks "Mystery Missile" an Illusion

One expert says he has an answer for a video that appears to show an unexplained missile launch off the Southern California coast - there was no missile.

John Pike of the security analyst group globalsecurity.org said the video shot by a news helicopter owned by KCBS is an optical illusion.

Pike said the video is of an airplane heading toward the camera and the contrail is illuminated by the setting sun. He said the object can't be a rocket because it appeared to alter its course.

Mystery Missile: Defense Dept. Issues Statement
Missile Mystery and More: Strange Sky Sightings

Pentagon officials were stumped by the event, saying no one within the Department of Defense has been able to explain the contrail or where it came from.

The FAA told CBS News that they ran radar replays of a large area west of Los Angeles based on media reports of the location of a possible missile launch, but they did not reveal any fast moving unidentified targets in that area. The FAA also did not receive any reports of any unusual sightings from pilots in the area.

Missile tests are common off Southern California. Launches are conducted from vessels and platforms on an ocean range west of Point Mugu.

The North American Aerospace Defense Command, or NORAD, issued a statement jointly with the U.S. Northern Command, or NORTHCOM, saying that the contrail was not the result of a foreign military launching a missile. It provided no further details.

"We can confirm that there is no threat to our nation, and from all indications this was not a launch by a foreign military," the statement said. "We will provide more information as it becomes available."

[noloyalisti]

This must be the kind of self-proclaimed "expert" that they have lying all the time on fascist Fox Propaganda Channel.

[babooph]

Could Pike speak to my wife? She keeps believing her lying eyes...

[wrangler2004]

Amber Alert: Balloon Boy dad Richard Heene is missing another child...and a rocket.

[miami_don]

LOL - This is funny.

[noloyalisti]

Look at how many Most Popular stories are here about this. The military did it themselves to keep everyone in fear. That way, we won't cut their corrupt, wasteful and absurd military spending for corporate profit.

[oldbasicgal]

I agree with Mr. Pike. It is simply a vapor trail from a jet coming across the sky, taken at an angle that makes it appear to be moving upward, and illuminated by the sun in such a way that it looks too intimidating to be simply a vapor trail.

[Overruled1]

If that were the case, the FAA and the military got caught with their pants down because at that range, the aircraft would have been identified at over 100 miles away and been sending a transponder signal.
This is a coverup.

[idiotforreading]

I stand by my guess that this was a piece of space junk or metor high in the atmosphere. 1) it was too high to show up on radar, 2) the contrail appears affected by stratospheric winds, 3) it was wobbling, 4) it didn't land as it probably skipped out of the atmosphere, 5) it appeared to move slow, but was probably moving fast, just very high, 6) it was moving due east in the opposite direction of the earths rotation, and 7) there are comets about and other reports worldwide of upper atmosphere fireballs recently.

[Turbidite]

Mr. Pike says it is an optical illusion.
Mr. Pike says it is an airplane.
Mr. Pike says it can't be a rocket since it changed course.....Mr. Pike, in case you haven't looked at rocket science in the last 80 years I'm sure you will be interested to know that rockets can be steered...that includes changing course.
Don't feel bad, Proposition 19 will be re-introduced and you can then make up a bunch of new stuff.
Has no one noticed the pulse like contrail such as seen with the old German rocket propelled buzz bombs?

[quaso]

This is sterling example of the media axiom that first reports following an incident are often incorrect.

And <geez!> there sure are a lot of tin foil hats out there...

[rf35]

I put mine on the moment the first report came up on the site! I just know it's Marvin trying to blow us up with his Illudium Q-36 explosive space modulator again.

[johndevinejr]

Pike said the video is of an airplane heading toward the camera and the contrail is illuminated by the setting sun. He said the object can't be a rocket because it appeared to alter its course.


Who are you gonna believe? Me? Or your lyin' eyes?

[RedWings_ninety_one]

Looks like Area 51 has gone mobile...who knew that they could do things in the ocean rather than the desert.