Secret Journey to Planet Serpo:
A True Story of Interplanetary Travel

For Beyond 50's "History" talks, listen to an interview with Len Kasten.  He is the author of "Secret Journey to Planet Serpo" that is based on factual events.  On July 16, 1965, a massive alien spacecraft from the Zeta Reticuli star system landed at a Nevada test site north of Las Vegas. Following a plan called "Project Crystal Knight" that was set in motion by President Kennedy in 1962, the alien visitors known as the Ebens welcomed 12 astronaut-trained military personnel aboard their craft for the 10-month journey to their home planet, Serpo, 39 light-years away (240 trillion miles).

The voyage to Serpo required traveling faster than light speed and maneuvering through traversible wormholes using an antigravity spacecraft.  Along the way, a pilot from the Serpo team died unexpectedly from a pulmonary embolism.

Upon arrival at Serpo, it was a difficult adjustment.  There was the intense heat from the planet's two suns, high radiation levels, 43-hour days, and assimilating to a strange, alien lifestyle.   

After 24-months, the team lost track of time and miscalculated their stay, which added three more years to the scheduled ten. 

Being good hosts to the Serpo team, the Ebens exchanged not only valuable information, but also friendship and goodwill.   

Only seven members returned to Earth on August 18, 1978.  Three had died and two had decided to stay behind on planet Serpo.

In November of 2005, former and current members of the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) - directed by Kennedy to organize the Serpo exchange program - came forward to reveal the operation, including details from the 3,000-page debriefing of the 7 remaining members of the Serpo team who returned after 13 years on the planet.

The lengthy details of "Project Crystal Knight" was fully documented in "The Final Report" and is currently declassified.  Also included as proof are recordings on 6,000 cassette tapes and numerous photos. 

To date, there have been subsequent visits by the Ebens from Zeta Reticula I and II star system, from 1978 to the last known visit on Thursday, November 12, 2009 at the Johnston Atoll on Akau Island in the South Pacific.

Interview:

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