A former NASA astronaut has come forward to reveal that he personally witnessed 'two metallic spherical orbs' whizz by his plane this August while flying above Texas. Leroy Chiao, who served as the commander of Expedition 10 to the International Space Station (ISS) in 2004 and 2005, was 9,000 feet in the air when objects 'zipped' on the left side of his airplane.
![['It's just kinda dumb luck that they didn't hit me,' said Leroy Chiao (pictured), whose NASA missions saw him serve as the commander for Expedition 10 to the International Space Station (ISS) in 2004 and 2005. Chaio believes these strange metallic orbs were a top secret drone test]](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/12/20/21/93368835-14215047-image-a-5_1734731699570.jpg)
He said one flew on top of the other and each was about three feet in diameter. 'It's just kinda dumb luck that they didn't hit me,' said Chiao. The former NASA astronaut estimates that the orbs were only 'about 20 feet away.'. 'It could've been a bad result, if they had actually hit me,' Chiao said. 'It happened so quick, there wasn't even a chance to get scared.'.
![[Above: a leaked US military image of what appears to be a metallic-looking orb flying over Mosul, Iraq in April 2016, included in a classified briefing video on UFOs shown to multiple US government agencies - according to the UFO reporter who obtained the image, Jeremy Corbell]](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/12/20/21/93368923-14215047-image-a-6_1734731891168.jpg)
The NASA veteran, now an engineering consultant and entrepreneur, told NewsNation that the strange metallic orbs appeared to evade detection. 'It wasn't on radar,' he noted, 'Air traffic control certainly didn't alert me. '[And] it wasn't on my display that shows other airplanes that are participating with the [Federal Aviation Administration] FAA-required transponders.'.
![[While playing a 2022 military UFO video taken by an MQ-9 Reaper drone in the Mid East, Pentagon UFO-hunter Dr Sean Kirkpatrick told a NASA panel that: 'We see these ['metallic orbs'] all over the world, and we see these making very interesting apparent maneuvers']](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/12/20/21/93368949-14215047-image-a-7_1734731932388.jpg)
'I don't know what it was,' the baffled former astronaut confessed. A former NASA astronaut has come forward to reveal that he personally witnessed 'two metallic spherical orbs' whizz by his plane while flying above Texas. Above, an example of a 'metallic sphere' weather balloon included in a 2023 report by NASA's UFO advisory panel.
![[The FBI and other agencies are investigating the alleged drones, but a representative from the Department of Homeland Security said Wednesday, Dec. 11: 'We have no more information as to where these drones are coming from, where they're launching from, where they're landing']](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/12/20/22/93006455-14215047-The_FBI_and_other_agencies_are_investigating_the_alleged_drones_-a-8_1734732719481.jpg)
'It's just kinda dumb luck that they didn't hit me,' said Leroy Chiao (pictured), whose NASA missions saw him serve as the commander for Expedition 10 to the International Space Station (ISS) in 2004 and 2005. Chaio believes these strange metallic orbs were a top secret drone test.
