Fact check: Object in video is lost component of International Space Station, not a UFO

The claim: Video shows UFO during a NASA spacewalk

Some social media users are sharing a video they claim shows a UFO flying above Earth during a NASA spacewalk.

The video shows a NASA astronaut working on the outside of the International Space Station. Earth can be seen below the astronaut. 

A white object is shown moving between the astronaut and Earth. The object, which appears to slowly rotate, is shown from different angles throughout the video.

“Real UFO,” reads two chyrons shown in the video.

A version of the video featured in a June 25 Facebook post was shared 11,000 times.

But the chyron is wrong. The purported UFO was a shield that was lost after astronauts attempted to install it on the International Space Station, according to a NASA spokesperson.

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USA TODAY was unable to contact the Facebook user who shared the post.

Object in video identified by NASA

The object shown adrift in the video is a shield that was intended to be used to protect an unused port from space debris, NASA spokesperson Daniel Huot told USA TODAY. 

The shield was lost during a 2017 NASA spacewalk when astronauts Peggy Whitson and Shane Kimbrough were attempting to install the shield and other parts. Despite the loss, other shields were successfully installed.

Fact check:Supposed UFO video is computer-generated imagery

Footage of the spacewalk showing the lost shield can be found on the Johnson Space Center’s YouTube channel.

Our rating: False

Based on our research, we rate FALSE the claim that a video shows a UFO during a NASA spacewalk. The floating object in the video was a shield that was lost after astronauts attempted to install it on the International Space Station. 

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