France's space agency creates GEPAN, a standing UFO study unit
1977 · CNES, Toulouse, France · Government program · Secondary sources only
In 1977 the French space agency CNES set up GEPAN, a group to study UFO reports, headed by Claude Poher until 1979. It worked under agreements with the gendarmerie, civil and military aviation and the weather service, which passed reports on. In November 1988 CNES replaced it with SEPRA, based in Toulouse; the service later became GEIPAN.
Why it matters (3/5)
The first sustained, openly published government UFO study office, still operating as GEIPAN.
Caveats
Estimates of how many cases stayed unexplained vary widely over the years. This entry rests on a private archive reproducing a 1989 SEPRA letter.
Sources
- From GEPAN to SEPRA (Patrick Gross, UFOs at close sight), context