The Secret of Skinwalker Ranch (2020–…): Season 3, Episode 9 - Closer Encounters - full transcript

- Check this out.
- More metal?

It's almost as if it
all came off the same object.

We definitely
want to analyze that.

- What the hell was that?
- What the hell was that?

There was a serious rumble.

I mean, you could
feel it in your feet.

Whoa!
What was that?

I saw something flash in the sky
to the west over Homestead Two.

There is a ranch
in northern Utah.

It is considered
the epicenter of the strangest

and most disturbing phenomena



on Earth.

Animal mutilations,
bizarre UFO sightings,

and unusual energies

that have proven harmful
to humans.

For 20 years,
the federal government

tried to find answers,
and failed.

Now, a new team of dedicated
scientists, researchers

and experts has taken over.

They are determined to solve

the mystery and reveal...

*THE SECRETS OF SKINWALKER RANCH*
Season 03 Episode 09

Episode Title: "Closer Encounters"
Aired on: July 05, 2022.

Hey, Erik.
You in here?

Yeah, I'm back here.



So, I was out
there by the drill site.

- Uh-huh.
- I was standing on the road

like, right above the hole,
looking up at the guys,

and the ground shook.

It didn't last as long
as an earthquake, but it...

Like that.
And I was like, "Wow."

And I even
asked the guys if they

felt it over the walkie,
and right as I held

the walkie up to call them,
I saw something.

- Just boom real quick across the sky.
- No way.

And it was spherical,
translucent white color.

And I mean it was fast,
too. Schoomp, like that.

Okay.

Things might really be
coming to a head

with our investigation
here on Skinwalker Ranch.

It keeps pushing me down.

Two weeks ago, we drilled
deep into the mesa...

I wonder if it's, like,
metal flakes or something.

...and discovered
what seems to be

a huge, dome-shaped metal object

buried beneath it
that we believe could

measure up to 400 feet wide.

Yeah, I'm up against
something pretty hard right now.

Now, while Thomas, Dragon
and I were right in that area,

we felt the ground
suddenly shake,

and I thought I saw a UAP.

Over the last three years
we've been able to

record multiple UAP sightings.

I'm hoping that
Erik caught the one I just

saw on his surveillance cameras.

Maybe it will give us

a better idea of where
these things are coming from.

Did you happen to
have any cameras looking in

the westerly direction?
I was looking due west.

Yeah, we have some bullet cams
that are always looking out

- that way.
- Well, can you pull those up?

I'm gonna say it was at,
uh, 13:45, because I checked

my phone, like,
immediately when it happened.

Best one would probably be this.

- Yeah, this view.
- That's exactly where...

So I would have been down here,

probably looking that way,
right?

Because the drill site is
right past that tree, I think.

All right. Well,
I'm at about 1:44 p.m.

Let's just see if we can
find it.

So, how big of a thing
are we talking about here?

Well, I mean,
it was like no bigger than

the spheres we've seen
in the sky before,

but it would've been
right in here somewhere.

- How fast was it moving?
- Dude, it was moving pretty fast.

That's what I'm worried about.
You may not catch it,

it was moving so fast.

Yeah, you see, there's a line
looked like it had been formed.

- Keep going.
- Okay, you want to do a frame advance?

- Yeah. Do frame by frame.
- Okay.

Ho! Right there!
There it is.

- Okay.
- Look at that.

Okay. I got it.

- Is that only in one frame?
- That's a single frame. Yeah.

Go back one and go through it

to see how many frames
it actually lasts.

Okay, I'm gonna center on it.

What in the heck?

Look at that. I don't
know if it came out of the mesa

- or from behind the mesa.
- Uh-huh.

I know that others have reported
that craft have been seen

going into the mesa.

Perhaps we're looking at
something

coming out of the mesa,

as has been speculated by,
by others.

I don't know.

There's a lot of information
that's put on these rocks.

Earlier this year,
ranch caretakers Kandus Linde

and Tom Lewis met
with retired Navajo ranger,

John Dover
to look at petroglyphs

carved into rocks
at nearby McConkie Ranch.

This place is amazing.

They were created by local

Indigenous people centuries ago.

And John believes they
depict strange phenomena

that have occurred
throughout the Uinta Basin.

We've actually had stories
involving

UAPs that have

entered into mesas.

And just gone
right into the rock.

I couldn't say if
this UAP came from the mesa,

but the massive tremor
that Dragon, Thomas and I

all felt just before it
appeared made me wonder if

the local beliefs are
possibly founded in fact.

- How did you catch that?
- Your eye integrates.

So, you know,
I saw a streak go across.

But it looks just...
I mean, that looks

just like what I thought I saw.

I said it was
a translucent white sphere.

I mean, look
how much more translucent

- white sphere can you get?
- You know, I gotta tell you,

if you hadn't seen this
with the naked eye, I would

not have detected this
on review of this footage.

This is such a fleeting event.

But this,
this does look very solid.

- That's a great catch.
- I'm excited about it.

Keep your eye on the sky,
maybe you'll see something else.

After we informed Brandon
about the massive tremor and UAP

incident at the mesa,
we asked him to immediately come

out to the ranch to formulate
a plan for what to do next.

With all the UAPs
we've documented this year,

especially in
the triangle area...

- How you doing? Good.
- Good.

...we wanted to present
him with our idea

for the biggest experiment yet.

With winter approaching,
this was our last

opportunity to find
some real answers.

Thanks for coming together,
guys.

I'm anxious to hear
what you have in store.

Yeah, so we, as you're
aware, we've launched

a lot of rockets this year

than in the years past.
Most of them with

instrumentation packages
in them.

With payloads to measure,
whether it's GPS or...

an RF or microwave signal,
gamma rays and so on.

And we've also in the past

had laser beams out here that
we've used for various things.

We've scanned across
the sky with them in the mesa,

and we've seen
some really weird stuff.

Yeah, you sure have.

And so, we thought
we needed to really

get a better handle on it

with a much larger rocket that
can go up through the triangle

and with a lot of instruments
on it, and at the same time have

multiple, very large lasers
focused on the spot,

as well as a scanning laser
system focused on the spot

while we have all
of our instruments

and cameras and everything
looking at it.

I mean, everything we've
got and used in the past

we would use
in one big experiment.

It sounds like you are proposing

- something on a grand scale.
- Yeah.

So, with our time
about to run out this year,

the plan is to use the biggest
rockets and lasers yet to

conduct a new experiment
that will not only stimulate

something unmistakable to
appear at the triangle, but also

reveal what that anomaly at
that mile-high zone actually is.

So, we've been talking with
the guys at LOC Precision

and we're gonna have a separate
set of payload canisters that

come out, and one payload
canister is going to deploy

chalk dust at different
altitudes as the parachute

sinks back through,
and it will create

a cloud all over
the triangle area.

So, if there is
some anomaly that's

invisible to the eye,
maybe the chalk will coat it.

And, also, it will
give more particulate matter

for the laser beams
to reflect off of.

So, it should allow us
to map that area and see it

better than
we've seen it ever before.

So, not just shining a beam
through the area, but rastering

a beam through that area
may give us a sense of the,

of the shape and size of
whatever it is that's up there.

We are going into

great detail, deliberate effort

to design multiple rocket
systems that we can launch.

That says nothing
of the instrument payload,

you know.
We're talking about putting on

frequency generator,

gamma ray detector,
of course, action cams.

This is probably
the largest scale, most complex

and most expensive experiment
that we've ever done out here.

Well, this is extraordinary.
These are big ideas.

There's a lot of things that we,
you know, wanted to

make sure we got your clearance
for before we proceeded.

Well, if this leads us to
better understand the origin

and the agenda of
what we're dealing with,

who or what we are interacting
with here at Skinwalker Ranch,

I think will,
will be well worth it.

Yeah, absolutely.

Well, given the scale

of this,
this incredible experiment that

you are coordinating,
I would love to be here...

- Great.
- ...to witness it myself.

We'd appreciate it. Thank you.

I-I really appreciate

the level of thought,

the effort and the organization
that you've really brought

to the table in order to
make this hopefully, you know,

some of our best
experimental efforts yet.

Because anytime we
initiate an experiment

that is aggressive, that-that
is poking the hornet's nest,

if you will, above the ranch,
something happens.

Well, and if nothing unusual
happens, that's a data point.

If nothing unusual happens,
that will be unusual.

- I like that.
- That'll be a first.

Oh, somebody's here.

Yeah. It looks
like it's the Loc boys.

And the Nu-Salt guys.

Two days after
our meeting with Brandon,

the rocket guys from
Loc Precision and the team

from Nu-Salt Laser
arrived to help us conduct

the biggest experiment ever
performed on Skinwalker Ranch.

Good to see you again.
How are you?

All of these guys had
taken part in previous experiments

targeting both
the triangle and the mesa,

so we were eager
to poke the nest harder

than ever before,
and get some definitive answers

about the weird phenomena
that keep happening out here.

We're combining two really
spectacular experiments

in one this time.

Bigger and better on the
rockets, and more lasers.

Yeah.

And I expect we're
going to learn a lot from it.

We have measured some
phenomenology here that's, uh,

actually affecting laser beams

as they propagate through
the sky.

We're actually
seeing lasers actually hit

a particular level
and then actually bend and turn,

and so that means
there is something significant,

you know, at this position.

And, we're gonna launch
rockets right through that,

we're gonna release
some powders that'll, you know,

create a cloud that
falls through this area

to give us more visual
with the laser beams.

So, what we've got to do,

we've got a lot of
moving parts here today.

We've got a couple of
really big rockets with

complicated payloads, while
we're setting up the lasers.

And we got to figure out,
make sure that we put the lasers

in such a way that they don't
damage the rocket during flight,

or the parachutes on the return,
because, you know, space cannons

will probably
melt the parachutes.

They are pretty hot.

So, I'd love to see
what you guys brought.

- I'm excited about this.
- Great.

- Let's do that. - Cool.
- Exciting.

So, we got three 200-watt
laser space cannons and one

NSL-2000 Model Z 30-watt laser
light show projector to set up.

- Wow.
- Wow.

That's impressive.
Can you guys top that?

- A lot of firepower.
- I think we might be able to.

The gauntlet's been thrown down.

- Oh, my gosh.
- Holy smokes.

So, here's what
we've got for you this year.

How tall is that, put together?

- 15 feet.
- Wow.

Wait till it's put together.

This right here is the
most awesome right here.

Look at this,
this is one of the motors.

Holy smokes.

This is a rocket motor
right here. Look at this.

Look at that thing.
It's a missile.

So, we brought three rockets.

One 15-foot tall,
12-inch diameter rocket

that can carry more instruments.

So, it's easier to
be able to help the guys

this time design the payload
area around their instruments to

get a better fit and hopefully
some better readings for them.

Well, I know when we talked
about it in planning, you know,

we-we said it was bigger,
but my gosh, standing in front

of it, I'm thinking yes,
it's big.

Yes, it's beautiful, but what
I see is instrument capacity.

Yep.

We have an opportunity
to learn a lot

with this, with this platform.

- Yeah.
- What's the safety range with this one?

With the O-motor,
it's a thousand feet.

So, nobody can be
within a thousand-foot

- radius of the launch pad.
- Sounds to me like helipad.

Yeah. We'll be
observing from the helipad.

- Yeah.
- I agree.

So, we need to start
getting everything together.

Get the payloads ready, and we

need to get out there and start
figuring out the logistics.

Let's get to work,
guys, we got a lot to do.

I'm excited, but this is
going to be a lot of work.

This is going to be a big day.

- Stand the booster up here.
- Yep.

Got you, sir.

- Are we good?
- Yeah.

The anticipation and hopes
are so high for this experiment,

we'll be able to either
stimulate or see something

that could really lead us
in a direction to figuring out

what's actually going on here.

- It's go time.
- Yes, sir.

Ready, ready.

Tonight's going to be

one of the most complicated,

biggest, most extravagant
experiments

that we've actually
done here at Skinwalker Ranch.

We've got three of these

giant, multi-hundred-watt
laser space canons.

We've got the laser scanner.

We're going to be
broadcasting a sweep across this

1.6 gigahertz part of
the spectrum where we're

getting these weird signals
here on the ranch.

We're going to
hopefully stimulate

the biggest response so far

and get a lot of data
as this rocket launches.

- Perfect. - Hey, Travis.
- Yeah?

At what kind of angle
do you want on these?

Do you want them
going straight up?

I think straight up.
If we could focus maybe,

I mean, angle each one
of the three beams together,

so they're hitting somewhere
about 3,000 feet up in the sky.

- Pyramid format? Okay.
- Yeah, yeah.

Pyramid it up to about
3,000 feet.

- Sounds good.
- Does that work for you guys?

- It does work.
- Okay.

The laser component
of our experiment

has its own multi-tier system.

First, we'll set up
three high-powered

laser cannons around the
triangle, and each laser beam

will be aimed upward,
converging at the mile-high zone

where we've detected
all kinds of radiation spikes

and obtained evidence
of an invisible anomaly that has

deflected other lasers,
and GPS devices in the past.

So, there we are.

The signal generator
is up and running.

All right. We are golden.

We're also going to

broadcast that 1.6 gigahertz

communication signal
that we recently

detected on the ranch.

Just a couple
of weeks ago,

we broadcasted the signal at
a local radio station...

- There it is.
- Wow.

...and stimulated

multiple UAPs to appear
in the sky.

- Look. Look, they're moving.
- Yep.

So, here's our
transmitter right here.

This is where we'll get
the source of the audio signal

that the guys
choose to run through it.

So tonight, we're going

to broadcast that
1.6 gigahertz signal up through

one of the lasers
directly into the anomalous

spot above the triangle.

Hopefully,
it will stimulate more UAPs,

or something else,
that might explain

what is really going on
in that mile-high zone.

And in addition to
the lasers here,

we'll deploy another
laser back on the helipad

that will be scanning
up and down and through

that region in
the sky above the triangle.

We'll monitor for any
bends in the laser's pattern.

If we see any deviations,

it could be evidence
of anomalies for us to focus on.

- Should we put the booster on?
- Yeah.

Once we get our laser
convergence system set up

at the triangle,
the team from Loc Precision has

brought out the granddaddy of
rockets that we are going to use

to make contact with that
anomaly in the mile-high zone.

All right,
let's bring her on in.

Down in front a little.
Thank you.

All right.
There we are. We're in.

All right. She's in.
She's home.

This 15-foot-tall rocket
will be equipped with every kind

of energy, radiation,
and gamma ray detector we have,

plus three payloads of
environmentally safe chalk dust.

Y'all hold the front end,
it's wanting to move.

- All right, ready?
- Yup

This is not
only an impressive piece of

equipment, it's very dangerous.

This thing looks like
a missile ready to go off.

You're home.

After it's launched

up over 5,000 feet,
a parachute will deploy,

bringing it straight back down

through the anomalous zone.

The first batch of chalk dust
will be released at 5,000 feet.

Then another at 4,000 feet,
and a third at 3,000 feet.

It'll be like throwing
flour on the invisible man.

Erik, are your GPS
units in the bottles turned on?

- They are.
- Okay. Thank you.

And once we've hopefully
identified where this

dang anomaly is,
we're going to launch another

rocket up there equipped
with more radiation

and gamma ray detectors

to collect all the data we can,

and maybe stimulate

the most awesome
ranch response yet.

- Hold down there, Dave.
- I got it.

- Go. Hard push, y'all. Hold it.
- Yep. Got it.

- All right, she's set.
- All right. Whew.

All right, Erik,
we gotta get this payload going.

Let's get it going.

- We are running out of daylight.
- All right, go.

These are all level-three
rockets, and these things are

gonna hit about 400 to 500
miles an hour,

so we're using
an ammonium perchlorate fuel,

which just by its
very nature is very hot.

- Put on a Z-clip, we're great.
- Perfect.

And it requires safer
distances, there's more power,

you need a bigger areas
around, larger areas to land.

So, everything
is connected, we can now

pack it up
and get to the safe zone?

I need to
break down as fast as I can

and get back
to the Command Center.

Go ahead and do that.
Tell me when it's safe to

shut that generator off.

Okay. Will do.

So, we'll just
set it up on top.

Yup. I've got it.

After our setup was complete,
all we needed was

for Brandon to arrive
and the sun to go down.

And then it's gonna
be time to make some history

on Skinwalker Ranch.

Okay, hey, it is time for all
non-essentials

to start evacuating the area.

Okay, we will see you guys
back at the Command Center.

We're about to begin
an experiment

on a larger scale than anything
we've attempted before.

This is the most complex
and expensive

and dangerous experiment

that we have ever attempted
on this ranch.

After we got set up
at the triangle area,

we moved back to the base
of operations at the helipad,

where we could monitor
everything from a safe distance.

We've also got
17 sets of eyes here.

Because of the size
of this experiment,

we have called the entire
Skinwalker team out to help us,

including Brandon, Jim Morse,

Tom and Kandus, and also,

Casey Smith from
Qual-Tec Associates,

who's here to look out

for any dangerous
radiation spikes

that might show up tonight.

So, we want all 17 sets of eyes

not only on what's happening
out there at the triangle,

but also on the sky.

There shouldn't be any
aircraft in this space,

because we've had it cleared.

This is a restricted airspace.

If anyone sees anything in
the sky when that rocket goes up

or when that payload's coming
down, I want to know about it.

Right. As soon as
Erik and I have finished

turning on all the instruments
in the payload,

we hand it
to the Loc guys, right?

Then, everybody has to be back

1,000 feet from the rocket.

Casey and Kaleb, you guys
should be down by Homestead Two

or the drilling site...
Keep an eye on the skies.

Kandus, Tom,
if you don't mind, I'd like

you to take
the east spotter position

up on the mesa,
because there's going to be

things coming out of the rocket,
falling out.

Try to watch and see if
you can see where they land.

Casey has brought some
instruments so that

we have gamma ray
detection capability.

So, Travis, I got one for you.

- All right.
- Erik.

Any little spike is
going to trigger those.

I think between
the bunch of us we're gonna be

mixed in with everybody,
so if it

- starts dinging, you'll know.
- Yeah.

Given the significance
of these experiments today,

and the recent
acute medical episodes with Tom,

I thought it was important
to bring Dr. Lee back.

So, I appreciate
Dr. Lee coming in.

It is great to be here. I
appreciate the focus on safety.

I know how much you have been
focusing and preparing to make

sure that everything is
done very safe.

Something is going on,

which, of course,
should raise all of our

awareness and the seriousness
of this exercise.

You know,
that's a really good point.

Let's keep an eye on each other.
Hear something, feel something,

smell something,
taste something, whatever that's

unusual,
say something immediately.

Hopefully we'll be able to
make sense of any unusual events

that take place
during the course of this.

- Let's get moving.
- All right.

- Appreciate everybody's help.
- Thank you, guys.

All right, this is the spot.

Kaleb and Casey are in position.

We're good to go. Over.

Copy that.

So, they're shooting
from the triangle, right?

Yeah.

I mean, we could
just go right up here.

Tonight is really
sort of the culmination of

everything we've done
for the past three years.

We started out with some
small rockets in the first year.

And then last year, we launched
some slightly bigger rockets.

This year, we're doing
a much bigger rocket.

Kandus. Tom. Do you guys copy?

Kandus and Tom
are in position on the mesa.

Everything looks good from here.

Roger that.

All right, guys, we're all set.

Let's wait until dark
and get this thing started.

All right, guys.
Let's go ahead and turn

the instruments on
and do our first launch.

Bam. There they are!

Check it out. Now see,
that is straight above us.

Looking at this
laser cannon shooting up

in the sky
for as far as I can see,

I can only imagine what
the neighbors and the people

in the surrounding areas
must think.

I mean, you can see
this laser from miles away.

Is that not crazy?

We've used lasers each summer,
and each summer we've

gotten bigger or more,
or spread them out more.

And what we've seen,
each time we do an experiment

like this is UAP in the sky.

Or at least some sort of unknown

atmospheric or aerial phenomena.

So, who knows what's
gonna happen to us tonight?

So, we're taking that
file that you guys gave us,

Travis, and running it

- through this phone here.
- Uh-huh.

- Oh, yeah.
- Oh, there it is.

- I recognize that sound.
- Yeah.

So, we're gonna take this
sound and we're gonna actually

put it through this transmitter
that has a driver built into it,

and it's going to take
that signal, and it's going to

modulate the laser beam so it's
actually travelling into space.

All right. Let's do it.

We recorded this weird sound
here on the ranch.

This 1.6 gigahertz frequency,
or wavelength.

- Oh, yeah. I heard it.
- That's crazy.

Yeah, so it's modulating
the laser amplitude.

We thought maybe it
was a communication signal,

but we don't know
what it means or where

it's coming from,
and what's creating it.

So, we thought we
would play it back through

the laser tonight to see if we
get any kind of response.

All right so, have you
got everything else set up?

- We do.
- All right, I say let's clear the launch area because

- we're about to launch this rocket.
- Sounds good.

Thank y'all very much.

- Good job.
- Amazing.

We've got the lasers on
and lined up,

and the rockets ready to go.

We're gonna be in launch mode

in probably about five minutes.

I gotta tell you, Travis,

the alignment
looks perfect from here.

The lasers were
beaming up perfectly through

the mile-high zone above
the triangle just as planned.

- That's amazing.
- Wow.

And with the 1.6 gigahertz

communication signal being
broadcast up into that zone,

everybody was braced for
anything strange

that might happen.

It was finally time to

launch our massive rocket.

All right, gentlemen.

Go ahead. Tell everybody we're
launching in 30 seconds.

Okay, teams in the field.

Tom, Kandus,
Kaleb, Casey, we are about

30 seconds from launch.

- Be prepared and ready.
- Kaleb copy, over.

10-4. Thank you. Over.

- We're ready to go.
- Great.

- All right, in five.
- Five? All right.

All right, you ready?

In five, four,

three, two,

one.

Three. Two. One.

Push and hold.

Uh-oh. That motor blew.

It exploded. Oh, no. Oh...

Hot greens. Hot greens.
Let's go, there could be a fire.

- Yep.
- Oh, my God.

What the hell just happened?

- Jump in.
- Nobody get run over.

Son of a bitch.

Hang on, Bryant!

Damn it. That sucks.

We were all set to shoot
our gigantic,

main rocket
up into the mile-high zone

above the triangle to
identify where this anomaly is,

but it just blew up in
a fireball above the launch pad.

I don't see a fire.

Right.

It blew out all the payload.

- What the?
- Here's another piece right here.

- You found it all?
- That's an instrument, yeah.

Damn it, that sucks.

This is definitely
a huge failure.

Seems like every single time
we've tried to monitor that

5,000-foot mark above
the ranch, something goes wrong.

Thomas, did you say that there
was a GPS piece that you found?

We've lost a bunch of
equipment.

We didn't get
really anything out of

the number of hours
that have gone into this.

It's like the ranch was
putting its foot down

and telling us, "No."

Is all the pyro out, though?

Everybody, there could still be
powder somewhere,

- so everybody...
- You haven't found them all yet?

- That blew.
- Yep. It blew.

The powder blew. It blew
the payload compartment.

Yep. It blew. Okay, we're safe.

All right.
Hey, guys, we're safe.

When we launched
the 15-foot rocket,

it had a forward seal failure
where the motor just couldn't

contain its pressure,
and the forward seal blew

straight up, which it's
supposed to do upon a failure

and that basically trashed
every instrument in the rocket.

Radio check.
Anybody hearing me?

Erik, I hear you. Go ahead.

Can somebody tell me
what the hell is going on?

I don't know where we are.

Sorry, Erik. We had
a catastrophic rocket failure.

We're out here doing disaster
analysis right now.

Never left the pad.
All the charges went off

- and it blew it up on the pad.
- Copy that.

Oh, boy.

The outcome is a shock
and a disappointment.

It's not what we expected,
given all

the sophistication
and the design of that rocket.

Fortunately,
we have other rockets that

we can launch into
the area above the triangle

in an effort
to continue the experiment.

- All right, so look. We still got two rockets.
- Yeah.

So, uh, we can do
the final experiment that

we planned on and use
the other rocket as a backup

in case something
happens to that rocket.

- Hundred percent.
- We're not gonna let it beat us.

Let's clean up.
Let's prep the next rocket.

Let's get the lasers ready,

and let's just do what
we've got to do.

- Let's do what we do.
- That's exactly right.

Hey, look, we still
got the second rocket

from Loc Precision
already prepared

with all of our sensors,

we still got the Nu-Salt guys

here with the lasers.

We're gonna launch
another rocket and see

what we can get out of that.

All right, here we go.

- Close, close, close.
- All right.

- That's in.
- That's in.

So, how close are we?

We just got to
put the igniter in

and get everybody back
and we're good to go.

So, we're ready to
clear the launch area?

- A hundred percent.
- Okay.

The rocket is loaded
on the launch pad.

We're just getting ready
to clear out.

10-4. We just got done
checking all the meters

out here, everything is 10-4.

Copy that. Thank you.

- All right, let's do it.
- Yep.

All right, we need to
clear the launch pad, everybody.

We're to that point.

- We've got about four minutes.
- We're ready to go.

Do we need to radio Casey

and Kaleb, let them know
our countdown?

- Yep. Yes, we do.
- Casey and Kaleb?

Do you guys have all

- the instruments in place? Over.
- Tom, Kaleb.

Yeah. 10-4.

Everything's in place
and good on our end.

Hey, Erik.

Yeah, go ahead, Travis.

So, I'm wondering about
air traffic, are we clear?

We are clear.

Although our second rocket

was smaller at nine feet tall,

it had plenty of power
to shoot up through the anomaly,

so we packed a payload
of chalk dust in that one, too,

along with our GPS
and radiation sensors.

We are one minute from
launching, guys, if you got

the laser about ready.

This was our
last chance to get some

answers with rockets
at the triangle this year,

so we were all hoping it would
launch as planned,

and make a direct hit
through that mysterious zone.

30 seconds and counting
on your timer, Travis.

We got 30 seconds till launch.

Yeah, I like
that elevation better.

Is that pointing
through the middle of the beam?

- Yeah. Right there.
- Ten seconds and counting.

- How much?
- Ten.

All right, here we go. Do it.

Here we go. Yes.

Five, four, three,

two, one.

There it goes!

That's fantastic.

What was that bend all about?

It caught dramatically
to the north,

so it couldn't
go up through the beam.

What in the crap?

So, there better be some
upper-level winds that

would explain that out
of the north.

What winds?

It launches straight up
and it gets to about

2,000, maybe 3,000 feet,

and it does something
really unusual.

It turned almost due north
and flew away from the triangle

area and away from the anomaly
that we know starts somewhere

around 2,500 to 3,000 feet

above ground level and up to
about 5,000 to 6,000 feet.

It's like it got to that point

and turned away from it
somehow or other.

Did you all see the smoke trail?
There was no wind

in the contrail at all.

There's no wind,
yet it gets deflected

- dramatically off to the north.
- There's no wind.

What in the crap?

Something deflected the rocket.

I mean, what else could do it?

And if it was gonna
blow up or break,

it would've not kept going
straight like it did.

It would have started
doing curlicues

and everything else
on a structural failure.

We had a perfect launch
with our nine-foot-tall rocket,

and it was headed straight
for the anomalous zone

above the triangle,
armed with chalk dust

and all kinds of radiation
scanning devices,

but something appeared to just

knock it off course in midair.

There it is.
So, we got it right here.

We have eyes on the rocket.

It's coming down above the mesa.

If they think it's
coming down above the mesa,

it's coming down in Roosevelt.

That's miles out there, guys.

How far north does that
look like that is to y'all?

A couple miles.

It's way north of
where we're at right now.

Yeah, that's what I think, too.

The rocket had
so much propulsion power

that it landed miles away.

We were really anxious to
find it and recover the scanning

and GPS devices inside to
see if we got data at the moment

of impact with whatever
it was that sent it off course.

I swear it looked like something
hit it and it shot north.

Because it was going
straight up and then just, boom!

Hmm.

You can see
some of the smoke floating

through the beam there, too.
Beam me up, Scotty.

Yeah. So, typically
when the rocket launches,

rockets always,

if they're not a guided rocket,
meaning you're not steering it

somehow, if it's just
what we call a dumb rocket,

when it goes up,
it will turn into the wind.

Always. Always.
Physics makes it do that.

And so, the way
that rocket went up

and turned,
it suggests there's winds

aloft somewhere at
where it made the turn.

But there's smoke setting right
there where it made the turn.

So, there's no wind!

It wasn't just a slight bend.

That thing went up
and threw its signal on

and went straight north.

So, it doesn't appear
that there is any immediate

conventional explanation
from what we just observed.

- Zero.
- Yeah, it makes no sense to me.

You know,
it kind of reminds me

of that experiment where we

dropped these
bottles out of a helicopter

using GPS coordinates,
and when they dropped those

bottles, we found some of
them a mile and a quarter away.

Yeah, and some of the
data showed that it looked like

a bottle fell down and turned
and went away from that spot.

Really? Okay. Wow.

- All right, dropping now.
- Dropping now.

About two months ago,
Dragon and I flew up above

the mile-high zone
at the triangle to drop

bottles containing GPS
devices down though it

to see if we could identify
the anomaly's exact location.

- Look what happens here.
- Holy cow. Look at that.

But when we recovered
the bottles on the ground

and processed the data,

it showed that two of them

actually bounced off something

just like what
happened with our rocket.

Wow.

Did we just encounter

the same anomaly up there?

If so, what the heck
is this thing?

Whoa, whoa, whoa.

Hey, Travis, you copy?

Yeah, Erik, go ahead.

If Brandon is nearby,

can you bring him in real quick?

We'll be right there.

What's going on, Erik?

Travis, you gotta see this.

- Okay.
- There's the lasers.

Yeah, I'm doing
an instant playback.

- Oh! Yeah.
- Do you see this?

Wow.

- What the crap is that?
- It's moving.

It's moving way too
fast for it to be a satellite.

And this just
appeared next to the lasers?

Yeah, it looks like
it's headed towards the apex.

That's crazy.

- When did this appear?
- This was just now.

- Oh, my gosh.
- Okay. I want to play it back.

Just after our rocket
got deflected away from

the mile-high zone
above the triangle,

Erik captured one of
the most vivid UAPs we've

seen during our experiments.

And it was
maneuvering right above

the apex of our laser beams
where we were also

broadcasting our 1.6 gigahertz
communication signal.

So, all I could wonder was
did we cause that to appear,

and is that
what deflected our rocket?

Is there any way
it could be air traffic?

I mean, we still
have a no-fly zone.

No. It's moving so fast.

- Yeah, there's no strobe.
- Look right here.

- This thing is really clipping along.
- Oh, my gosh.

It disappeared. Can you
replay that, please?

- Yeah, yeah, yeah, hold on.
- What did it disappear into?

It's not cloudy.

- And gone.
- Look at that. Look at that.

That's insane.

Where did it disappear into?

Oh, my gosh.

That's insane.

Erik caught a UAP
on surveillance cameras

that appeared
directly above the apex of

our laser formation
over the triangle.

But then it just
vanished into thin air

right where we keep detecting
massive energy spikes.

This is, like,
just like minutes ago.

How did we not see that
out there? How did we miss that?

I don't know, but thank goodness

the surveillance cameras
picked it up.

Look at that. Look at that.

We'll go back and replay this.

This is the point
at which I just caught

a glimpse of this thing.
It emerged from,

- I don't know if it was...
- That's down below the Mesa.

I don't know if I'm seeing
what I think I'm seeing or not.

Is it a portal?
Are we seeing portals open?

- Yeah.
- Okay.

Oh, wait. Back it up.
All right. Back it up.

It does look like
it's going right

to where the lasers
are pointing.

- Okay. You want me to zoom in?
- Yeah.

Looks like there's some kind of
structure in the middle of it.

It has edges.

- Do you see that?
- Yeah.

But the edges seem to move.

Check it out.

It looks sort of amorphous.

Yeah, it does
appear to be changing shape.

Unbelievable.

Now, I don't know,
but it looks like

the UAP we saw tonight

might have come from behind

or actually from inside
the mesa.

And then it just disappeared

into the anomaly
above the triangle.

That's crazy.

Is that what
messed with our rockets?

Did we cause it to appear
by broadcasting

the 1.6 gigahertz signal?

And then, where did it go?

Skinwalker Ranch has
been a haven for rumors about

UAPs actually entering
and exiting from the mesa,

portals and all kinds
of other bizarre phenomena

for decades, if not centuries.

Tonight,
we may have finally captured

evidence that some
of that could be true.

All right, make sure
to save this right away.

What the heck is that?

That's insane.

Many past investigators,
from Robert Bigelow's team

as well as members from
the Indigenous community,

have all stated that
they believe portals

to other dimensions
exist on Skinwalker Ranch.

Now, I'm not ready
to make that my belief,

but I think it's
a valid enough hypothesis

that we need
to focus our investigation on.

I don't think it's
an exaggeration to say

that some of what we've
seen during this exercise

ranks among the strangest
events that we've witnessed.

Are we dealing with something

that is technological
and even volitional?

We all want to know
the answer to this.

Oh, my gosh.

We were shocked to see,
right there next

to the lasers, pointing
to an apex above the triangle,

a UFO, literally
monitoring our efforts.

Is it a coincidence
that this sighting

followed the catastrophic events
of the exploding rocket before?

I don't think so.

How do we better understand

what kind of forces
we are dealing with?

Are they trying to
thwart our investigation?

Are they trying to
harm our team?

Are we truly dealing
with what many refer to

as a precognitive,
sentient intelligence?

Or is there something more
at work at Skinwalker Ranch?

- Spinning up.
- Pete Kelsey has brought on

- some of the most advanced technology.
- That's amazing.

I found a signal

that was an intelligent
communication.

We want people
at other facilities

to check out the signal, too.

I think it'd be a good idea to
get everyone's eyes on this.

- Absolutely.
- Let's do.

This is
a three-dimensional model of

the entire mesa, and look at
what's sticking up in the sky.

- Wow!
- Never seen it before.

I've never seen
anything like it before.

How do we move forward?

CAPTIONING PROVIDED BY
A+E NETWORKS