The House of Representatives has published Mike Gold’s witness statement for its UFO hearing on November 13, “Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena: Exposing the Truth.” The joint hearing is being held by the Subcommittee on Cybersecurity, Information Technology, and Government Innovation and the Subcommittee on National Security, the Border, and Foreign Affairs. Rep. Nancy Mace and Rep. Glenn Grothman are co-chairing the hearing. It starts at 11:30 a.m. Eastern.
This is the first major hearing since the July 2023 one where David Grusch, Ryan Graves, and David Fravor testified under oath.
See Mike Gold’s Statement Below
According to Gold’s bio, he’s the Chief Growth Officer at Redwire, leading the company’s commercial and national security business development, along with government relations activities. Prior to that, he was NASA’s Associate Administrator for Space Policy and Partnerships, Acting Associate Administrator for the Office of International and Interagency Relations, and Senior Advisor to the Administrator for International and Legal Affairs. He led NASA’s implementation of the Artemis Accords and led negotiations for the lunar Gateway.
Perhaps most interestingly, he worked 13 years for Bigelow Aerospace and helped establish the company’s Washington office, overseeing launches of the Genesis 1 and 2 spacecraft, his bio notes. (Robert Bigelow was the previous owner of Skinwalker Ranch.) Gold has a JD from the University of Pennsylvania Law School.
Gold’s witness statement is posted at Congress.gov, but you can read it in full below.
Gold Has Previously Said He Didn’t Work with UAPs at Bigelow Aerospace
Though Gold’s Bigelow Aerospace work is intriguing, he has previously stated that he didn’t work with UAPs while there.
In 2013, after funding ended for AATIP, Mike Gold from Bigelow was asked about the FAA’s recommending UFO reports be sent to Bigelow, and this is what he said:
Gold Warned of the Dangers Space Debris Poses to Our Existence
In May 2023, NASA’s UAP task force held a public meeting to discuss the task force’s future role in researching UAP sightings, along with the current state of UFO research. (It seems that some of Gold’s ideas might originate from this task force’s findings.) Gold was one of 16 people serving on NASA’s UAP study team.
During their public meeting, Gold warned of an existential threat to society that’s looming in space. He said one of his biggest concerns is the threat that space debris poses to society.
“I also want to note, in terms of space debris, debris in orbit right now I believe represents an existential threat to our very society,” he said. “That we are getting very close to an event that could cause real problems for our ability to access satellites.”
But he also praised NASA for its ability to work with other countries, even those that may not have great relations with the U.S. otherwise.
“NASA is singular, I believe, among government agencies [in terms of reaching out to other countries]…” he said. “Not to keep talking about the Artemis Accords, but you see countries like Saudi Arabia, that we do not have a great relationship with as a government right now, we have Saudi Arabia and Israel in the accords… NASA is unique in its scope and ability to reach out.”
He talked about how space traffic management is shifting from the Department of Defense to the Department of Commerce, and how NASA’s current research into UAPs will help deal with future space debris issues.
“That’s why I think there’s great ancillary benefits to the conversation we’re having today, that as we increase our capability to monitor orbit for UAPs, that data could also be very relevant as we look at near-Earth objects and other threats…” he noted.
In addition to space debris, Gold also noted that problems that might develop from the Apophis asteroid.
Stephanie Dwilson is a licensed attorney and has a master's in science in science and technology journalism. She's known for her thorough, accurate reporting and commitment to journalistic integrity in all her work. You can reach her at writerdube@gmail.com.
