UFOs, NBC’s Today Show
Vocabulary
navy | rule (2) | pretty (2) |
army | marines | defy/defied |
fleet | physics | chemistry |
hover | science | break through |
turn | instant | extremely |
sonic | remain | dive/dove-dived/dived |
speed | bearing | long awaited |
glitch | disturb | collect (2) |
radar | track (3) | screen (3) |
doubt | former | veteran (2) |
poof | sign (3) | get/got/got |
mile | gone (2) | go/went/gone |
mach | wind (2) | break/broke/broken |
per | turn on | fly/flew/flown |
jet | tight (2) | fast/faster/the fastest |
alien | reusable | hit/hit/hit (3) |
deal | conceal | make/made/made |
NASA | aircraft | say/said/said |
dime | illusion | on a dime |
hyper- | capable | pentagon (2) |
secret | cover (3) | blow their cover |
likely | potential | blow/blew/blown (2) |
Ph.D. | unlikely | believe (2) |
radius | turn off | think/thought/thought (2) |
beam | land (2) | know/knew/known |
lawn | anecdote | unidentified |
crappy | air force | hide/hid/hidden |
sci-fi | concern | disturbing |
fan (2) | defense | secretary (2) |
CIA | identify | cutting edge |
drone | research | handle (2) |
lab | congress | phenomenon |
detect | weapon | adversary |
theory | mark (2) | operate (2) |
admit | sighting | government |
splash | range (2) | going forward |
exist | evidence | announce |
critical | security | hard data |
Video
Transcript
Whatever they are . . .
Navy Pilot: “There’s a whole fleet of them.”
They seem to defy the rule of physics, hovering in the wind, stopping instantly and moving extremely at hyper-sonic speeds — then diving into the ocean
Navy personnel: “Splash. splash. Mark bearing range.”
The First Theory: software glitches in the tracking radars create on screen illusions.
But a government source says there were no glitches. And the veteran navy pilots are very critical.
Veteran Navy Pilot: “It gets in front of me and poof, its gone. Just like that!”
The Second Theory: a new, top-secret plane using break through technology capable of flying at mach 5, 3,800 miles (6,115 kilometers) per hour, or more, yet able to hover and make very tight turns.
The fastest hyper-sonic plane ever was the X-15, hitting mach 6.7, 4,500 miles (7,242 kilometers) per hour, in 1967. But it used a rocket. Today, most fighter jets can hit mach 2.
Glenn Case, Hermeus Chief Technology Offier: “In the coming years, we would love to be able to travel from New York to London in 90 minutes.”
Journalist: “Ninety minutes?”
Jet Engineer: “Ninety minutes.”
Engine maker Hermes is working on what it says will be the fastest reusable aircraft engine in the world, capable of hitting mach 5.
Hermes has now signed deals with NASA and the pentagon. But does the US, Russia or China already have a secret mach 5 plane that can turn on a dime?
Most experts doubt it.
Glenn Case, Hermeus Chief Technology Officer: “Those turning radiuses, when you’re turning, that’s tens to hundreds of miles. Things aren’t going to turn on a dime when you’re talking about these types of systems.”
Journalist: “It’s too fast.
Glenn Case, Hermeus Chief Technology Officer: “It’s just too fast.”
Theory Number Three: YEAH — Aliens from another world, able to conceal themselves . . . but for some reason, they keep blowing their cover.
Even many scientists who believe there is life up there think that’s unlikely.
Adam Frank, Ph.D. University of Rochester Astrophysicist: “Like you would think they know how to turn off their high beams. If they don’t just want to land on the White House lawn, and announce themselves and remained hidden, they’re doing a pretty crappy job of it.”
Sci-Fi fans would love to believe.
Theory Number Four: But former CIA director and defense secretary Leon Panetta has an even more disturbing theory, another country’s cutting age hyper sonic drones.
Leon Panetta, I believe a lot of this stuff probably could be countries like Russia, like China, like others who are using now, drones.”
But couldn’t the US. track those?
Christopher Goyne, University of Virginia Aerospace Research Lab Director: “I doubt that a UAP (Unidentified Aerial Phenomenon) would be a weapon that an adversary might be operating because I think we have the technology to detect and identify a hyper sonic weapon.”
That’s the problem: for every theory, there’s a reason to doubt it.
News Anchor: “So, Tom, now that that long awaited report is finally out, what is the government going to do with future sightings going forward? How are they going to handle those?”
Journalist: “It wants to come back to Congress within 90 days for a plan for collecting the data here. Instead of anecdotal reports, it wants hard, scientific data.
It admits there is evidence that this phenomenon exist. So now it wants a better approach to collect that data.
But guys, the idea that another country has surpassed the US in hyper sonic technology, that’s a national security concern. People inside and outside the government are very concerned about that.
There really is the need for talk about real potential aliens.
Most experts say there really isn’t any evidence of that.”
Questions
Millimeter. UFOs only fly normally in a straight line. True or false?
Centimeter. What did the reporter say about radars, computers and other equipment?
Meter. Do only ordinary people say they have seen UFOs?
Kilometer. Could the US military have created UFOs as an advanced super weapon?
Milligram. Is it possible for an airplane to fly at mach 5 (6,115 km/hr)? Can such an aircraft easily change directions at that speed?
Gram. What is the most obvious and popular explanation for UFOs?
Kilogram. How to experts refute the claim of aliens from another world?
Tonne. Is the former CIA director and defense secretary worried? Is the US government concerned about UFOs? What are they concerned about? Why are they worried?
Milliliter. My friends and I have seen a UFO. Yes or no?
Liter. Have you heard of UFO sighting or reports? Have many people claimed to have seen a UFO? Have many people said they saw a UFO?
Cubic Meter. Is there much interest and fascination of UFOs? Are people interested and fascinated by UFOs?
Square Meter. Are UFOs real? Do you think UFOs are real or fake? What do you think they might be?
Hectare. What might happen in the future?
Square Kilometer. Should people and governments do anything? What should people and governments do regarding UFOs?