Leland Devon Melvin

Early Life and Education

Leland Devon Melvin was born February 15, 1964, in Lynchburg, Virginia. He earned a Bachelor of Science in Chemistry from the University of Richmond (1985) and a Master of Science in Materials Science Engineering from the University of Virginia (1989). A unique aspect of his background is his brief professional football career: he was drafted in the 11th round by the Detroit Lions in 1986 and briefly trained with the Dallas Cowboys, though a hamstring injury prevented him from playing professionally. He remains the only person drafted by an NFL team to subsequently fly in space; his Detroit Lions jersey is displayed in the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio.

NASA Engineering Career and Astronaut Selection

Melvin joined NASA Langley Research Center in 1989, where he worked in the Fiber Optic Sensors group of the Nondestructive Evaluation Sciences Branch, developing optical fiber sensor technologies for aerospace vehicle testing and evaluation. His work focused on structural health monitoring and materials characterization. In June 1998, he was selected as a NASA astronaut candidate. His astronaut career included two Space Shuttle Atlantis missions: STS-122 (February 7–20, 2008), which delivered the European Space Agency's Columbus Laboratory to the International Space Station, and STS-129 (November 16–29, 2009), which transported logistics carriers and replacement components to the ISS. Across his two missions, Melvin logged over 565 hours in space.

Space Anomaly Report

During one of his space shuttle missions—likely during STS-129 in 2009—Melvin observed an object floating in the payload bay of the Space Shuttle Atlantis. He described it as "curved," "organic looking," and somewhat "alien-like" in appearance. Melvin contacted mission control to inquire about the object. NASA informed him that it was translucent ice that had broken off from the spacecraft's Freon cooling hoses—a mundane but plausible explanation. Melvin accepted NASA's explanation, later stating that the ice explanation was "likely correct." However, in August 2018, a decade after the incident, Melvin publicly tweeted about the sighting, describing his observation and noting that he had "not seen one [UFO] in space or on the ground but thought I saw something organic/alien like floating out of the payload bay." When pressed by UFO research communities about whether NASA might have misidentified the object, he responded with some residual uncertainty: "Hmmm. Don't think so but you never know." The tweet went viral across UFO research forums and mainstream media outlets, generating significant discussion despite Melvin's own acknowledgment of NASA's likely correct assessment.

NASA Education Leadership and Later Work

Following his astronaut career, Melvin transitioned to educational leadership. In October 2010, he was appointed NASA Associate Administrator for the Office of Education, where he was responsible for developing and implementing NASA's science and technology education programs. In this role, he served as co-chair of the White House Federal Coordination in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) Education Task Force, helping to develop the nation's five-year STEM education plan. He also served as chair of the International Space Education Board, representing the United States in international STEM education coordination. Melvin retired from NASA in February 2014 and subsequently became a public speaker and advocate for STEM education, emphasizing the importance of inspiring the next generation of scientists and engineers. He holds four honorary doctorates and is a TED speaker. Throughout his public work, Melvin emphasizes the concept of "Orbital Shift," describing how viewing Earth from space fundamentally changes individuals' perceptions of their place in the universe. He advocates for planetary preservation and environmental stewardship through visual documentation of Earth's beauty from both space and terrestrial perspectives.

Significance and Context

Melvin's 2018 disclosure of his space-based observation is notable less for the claim itself—which he readily accepts a conventional explanation for—than for the window it provides into astronaut experiences in space and the broader post-2017 disclosure era. His credible background (engineer, astronaut, 565+ hours in space, NASA educator) lends authority to his testimony, even as he maintains scientific skepticism about the object's true nature. The decade-long gap between the 1909 observation and his 2018 public statement reflects broader patterns of late-career disclosure among former space program personnel.