Within Secret Fleets
Did Solar Warden Grow From One Spreadsheet Claim?
The alleged spreadsheet was later woven into Solar Warden stories despite the lack of direct documentary connections.
On this page
- Mc Kinnon's original account
- How Solar Warden entered the story
- Evidence versus later retellings
Page outline Jump by section
Introduction
The link between Gary McKinnon’s hacking claims and the alleged secret space fleet known as “Solar Warden” did not come from a document McKinnon published or from a programme name he said he found. Instead, the connection emerged gradually as later writers and UFO researchers tried to interpret one of the most ambiguous parts of his story: an alleged spreadsheet titled “Non-Terrestrial Officers” that reportedly contained personnel information and references to ship-to-ship transfers. Over time, that fragment was folded into a broader narrative about a hidden military presence in space, eventually becoming one of the most frequently cited pieces of supposed evidence for Solar Warden. The important historical point is that the Solar Warden story largely developed after McKinnon’s original account rather than being directly documented within it. [WIRED]wired.comufo hacker tells what he foundWIRED'UFO Hacker' Tells What He Found21 Jun 2006 — I also got access to Excel spreadsheets. One was titled "Non-Terrestrial Officers." It…
McKinnon’s Original Account
When McKinnon described what he claimed to have seen on US military and NASA-related systems, he focused on two unusual discoveries. One was an image he believed showed an unidentified craft. The other was an Excel spreadsheet headed “Non-Terrestrial Officers”, which he said listed names, ranks and information relating to transfers between ships. [WIRED]wired.comufo hacker tells what he foundWIRED'UFO Hacker' Tells What He Found21 Jun 2006 — I also got access to Excel spreadsheets. One was titled "Non-Terrestrial Officers." It…
A key detail often overlooked in later retellings is that McKinnon did not present a complete interpretation of the spreadsheet. In his 2006 interview with Wired, he acknowledged uncertainty about what he had found. When asked whether the material could have been part of a military simulation or hypothetical scenario, he did not rule that out. He stated that it was difficult to know for certain. [WIRED]wired.comufo hacker tells what he foundWIRED'UFO Hacker' Tells What He Found21 Jun 2006 — I also got access to Excel spreadsheets. One was titled "Non-Terrestrial Officers." It…
The surviving public record therefore contains three elements:
- McKinnon’s claim that the spreadsheet existed.
- His description of unusual personnel and transfer data.
- The absence of any publicly released copy of the spreadsheet.
What it does not contain is a reference to a programme called Solar Warden. No publicly available interview from the period of the hacking allegations shows McKinnon claiming that he discovered a project by that name. [WIRED]wired.comufo hacker tells what he foundWIRED'UFO Hacker' Tells What He Found21 Jun 2006 — I also got access to Excel spreadsheets. One was titled "Non-Terrestrial Officers." It…
How Solar Warden Entered the Story
The Solar Warden connection arose because McKinnon’s spreadsheet description appeared to suggest organisation and logistics rather than a single UFO incident. For researchers already interested in alleged secret space programmes, terms such as “Non-Terrestrial Officers” and “ship-to-ship transfers” seemed compatible with the idea of an off-world military structure. [WIRED]wired.comufo hacker tells what he foundWIRED'UFO Hacker' Tells What He Found21 Jun 2006 — I also got access to Excel spreadsheets. One was titled "Non-Terrestrial Officers." It…
At roughly the same time, Solar Warden was gaining visibility within a separate stream of UFO and conspiracy literature. The term was used by authors, lecturers and online commentators as the name of a supposed classified space fleet operated by elements of the US military. The programme’s alleged existence was supported primarily through whistle-blower accounts, anonymous testimony and secondary reporting rather than official documentation. As that narrative expanded, McKinnon’s spreadsheet claim became a convenient piece of supporting lore. [Apeirron]apeirron.comThe Breakaway CivilizationThe Breakaway Civilization - ApeirronApril 23, 2026 — 1 day ago — The phrase "Solar Warden" — which McKinnon did not coin but whi…
The mechanism was simple:
- McKinnon reported officers and ship transfers.
- Solar Warden stories described a hidden space fleet.
- Commentators treated the two narratives as referring to the same system.
- Repetition across websites, forums, documentaries and podcasts gradually turned the association into an assumed fact.
By the 2010s, many retellings no longer presented the link as an inference. Instead, they described McKinnon as having uncovered evidence of Solar Warden itself, even though the original accounts did not establish that connection. [Amazon Music]music.amazon.comMusic He Hacked NASAHe Found Non-Terrestrial Officers. (Solar…"Non-Terrestrial Officers": The excel spreadsheet McKinnon found listing officers who do not…
The Role of UFO Media and Retellings
The connection strengthened through repeated citation rather than new evidence.
A common pattern was that one article would summarise McKinnon’s “Non-Terrestrial Officers” claim, then cite earlier Solar Warden material as context. Later writers would encounter both stories together and assume they were part of the same evidentiary chain. After enough repetitions, the distinction between “McKinnon found a spreadsheet” and “McKinnon found Solar Warden” became blurred. [Apeirron]apeirron.comThe Breakaway CivilizationThe Breakaway Civilization - ApeirronApril 23, 2026 — 1 day ago — The phrase "Solar Warden" — which McKinnon did not coin but whi…
This process is visible in many online discussions, podcasts and conspiracy-oriented summaries where Solar Warden is presented as the explanation for McKinnon’s observations rather than as a separate hypothesis attached afterwards. [Reddit]reddit.comGary Mc Kinnon, UFO's, and the Classified Space ProgramSolar Warden." I understand this sounds crazy, and being skeptical… non-terrestrial officers" sounds, to me, like something he made…
Evidence Versus Later Retellings
The strongest evidence available is still McKinnon’s own description of what he claimed to have seen. That evidence is limited because the alleged spreadsheet has never been independently verified, authenticated or released publicly. No known document links the spreadsheet directly to Solar Warden. [WIRED]wired.comufo hacker tells what he foundWIRED'UFO Hacker' Tells What He Found21 Jun 2006 — I also got access to Excel spreadsheets. One was titled "Non-Terrestrial Officers." It…
By contrast, the claim that McKinnon uncovered Solar Warden usually depends on a chain of assumptions:
- “Non-Terrestrial Officers” referred to personnel operating in space.
- The ships mentioned were spacecraft rather than conventional vessels or administrative entries.
- Those personnel belonged to a secret programme. * That programme was Solar Warden. [podme.com]podme.comThe Man That Hacked NASA and Found UFOs Interview w/ Gary…Gary McKinnon hacked into 97 U.S. military and… Solar Warden Myth 2…</span></span></span> Each step moves beyond the information contained in McKinnon’s original account. None of those links has been demonstrated through released records. [WIRED [wired.com]wired.comufo hacker tells what he foundWIRED'UFO Hacker' Tells What He Found21 Jun 2006 — I also got access to Excel spreadsheets. One was titled "Non-Terrestrial Officers." It…
An additional complication is that McKinnon has, in later discussions, been cited as distancing himself from claims that he directly discovered Solar Warden. Discussions among researchers and commentators frequently note that the name was attached to his story by others rather than originating from his own evidence. [Reddit]reddit.comWhy I believe theres some truth to McKinnons claim of…Gary McKinnon's connection to Solar Warden. Information on the 20 and…
Why the Link Persisted
The association endured because McKinnon’s account supplied something that Solar Warden narratives lacked: a real-world incident involving an actual hacker, a genuine criminal investigation and alleged access to government systems. Meanwhile, Solar Warden provided a ready-made explanation for the mysterious spreadsheet he described. Together they formed a mutually reinforcing story. [WIRED]wired.comterrorist or ufo truth seekerTerrorist or UFO Truth Seeker?Apr 28, 2006 — But Briton Gary McKinnon says he is just an ordinary computer nerd who wanted to find o…
From a historical perspective, the significance of the connection lies less in what it proves than in how modern UFO narratives develop. A brief, unverified reference to “Non-Terrestrial Officers” became linked to an existing secret-space-programme mythology through interpretation, repetition and narrative amplification. The result was a widely repeated claim that McKinnon had uncovered evidence of Solar Warden, even though the public record shows only that later storytellers connected the two. [WIRED+2Apeirron]wired.comufo hacker tells what he foundWIRED'UFO Hacker' Tells What He Found21 Jun 2006 — I also got access to Excel spreadsheets. One was titled "Non-Terrestrial Officers." It…
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Endnotes
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Source: wired.com
Title: ufo hacker tells what he found
Link: https://www.wired.com/2006/06/ufo-hacker-tells-what-he-found/Source snippet
WIRED'UFO Hacker' Tells What He Found21 Jun 2006 — I also got access to Excel spreadsheets. One was titled "Non-Terrestrial Officers." It...
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Source: wired.com
Title: terrorist or ufo truth seeker
Link: https://www.wired.com/2006/04/terrorist-or-ufo-truth-seeker/Source snippet
Terrorist or UFO Truth Seeker?Apr 28, 2006 — But Briton Gary McKinnon says he is just an ordinary computer nerd who wanted to find o...
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Source: apeirron.com
Title: The Breakaway Civilization
Link: https://www.apeirron.com/node/breakaway-civilizationSource snippet
The Breakaway Civilization - ApeirronApril 23, 2026 — 1 day ago — The phrase "Solar Warden" — which McKinnon did not coin but whi...
Published: April 23, 2026
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Source: music.amazon.com
Title: Music He Hacked NASA
Link: https://music.amazon.com/es-co/podcasts/9230638a-ebed-4306-beda-8579dc535e8c/episodes/c9a3d6eb-be62-4b47-924c-6918e08b026a/thrilling-threads—conspiracy-theories-strange-phenomena-unsolved-mysteries-etc-he-hacked-nasa-he-found-non-terrestrial-officers-solar-wardenSource snippet
He Found Non-Terrestrial Officers. (Solar..."Non-Terrestrial Officers": The excel spreadsheet McKinnon found listing officers who do not...
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Source: reddit.com
Title: Gary [Mc Kinnon]({{ ‘mc-kinnon/’ | relative_url }}), UFO’s, and the Classified Space Program
Link: https://www.reddit.com/r/aliens/comments/1kt5v1j/gary_mckinnon_ufos_and_the_classified_space/Source snippet
Solar Warden." I understand this sounds crazy, and being skeptical... non-terrestrial officers" sounds, to me, like something he made...
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Source: reddit.com
Link: https://www.reddit.com/r/HighStrangeness/comments/ybzdq1/why_i_believe_theres_some_truth_to_mckinnons/Source snippet
Why I believe theres some truth to McKinnons claim of...Gary McKinnon's connection to Solar Warden. Information on the 20 and...
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Source: wired.com
Title: WIRE D
Link: https://www.wired.com/Source snippet
The Latest in Technology, Science, Culture and...We bring you the future as it happens. From the latest in science and technolog...
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Source: reddit.com
Title: The Bear
Link: https://www.reddit.com/r/TheBear/comments/1t4msd8/the_bear_gary_discussion_thread/Source snippet
Gary Discussion Thread: r/TheBearTitled “Gary,” the episode is a flashback following Richie (Ebon Moss-Bachrach) and Mikey (Jon Bernthal...
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Source: reddit.com
Link: https://www.reddit.com/r/UFOs/comments/16uujkn/gary_mckinnon_talks_about_finding_the/Source snippet
Gary Mckinnon talks about finding the "Non-terrestrial...McKinnon tells what he found and discusses the motivation behind his online adv...
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Source: Wikipedia
Title: Gary Mc Kinnon
Link: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gary_McKinnonSource snippet
Gary McKinnonGary McKinnon (born February 1966) is a Scottish systems administrator and hacker who was accused by a US prosecutor in 2...
Published: February 1966
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Source: film-authority.com
Link: https://film-authority.com/2026/05/12/gary/Source snippet
May 12, 2026 — Gary is set in Gary, Indiana and provides some context by depicting Ritchie (Ebon Moss-Bachrach) and Mickey (Jon Bernthal)...
Published: May 12, 2026
Additional References
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Source: dictionary.com
Link: https://www.dictionary.com/browse/garySource snippet
GARY Definition & Meaninga port in NW Indiana, on Lake Michigan. a male given name: from an Old English word meaning “spear bearer.” Powe...
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Source: facebook.com
Link: https://www.facebook.com/groups/Openmindsforum/posts/8107800215998911/Source snippet
Open Minds Forum's origin of Solar WardenWhen Gary McKinnon hacked into U.S. Space Command computers several years ago and learned of the...
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Source: podme.com
Link: https://podme.com/no/episode/10963050/?page=6Source snippet
The Man That Hacked NASA and Found UFOs [Interview w/ Gary...Gary McKinnon hacked into 97 U.S. military and... Solar Warden Myth 2...
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Source: malicious.life
Link: https://malicious.life/episode/us_vs_gary_mckinnon/Source snippet
The US vs. Gary McKinnonGary McKinnon, a British hacker with Asperger's, broke into NASA & US Army networks - to find evidence of UFO cov...
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Source: facebook.com
Link: https://www.facebook.com/groups/FlatEarthGlobeDiscussion/posts/2505468386561711/Source snippet
This is something i find amazing. All you flerfs talk about...GARY MCKINNON AND Richard Dolan! Gary was the alleged "Hacker" the U.S. go...
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Source: disneyplus.com
Link: https://www.disneyplus.com/en-gb/browse/entity-a28327ab-0812-4da4-ad69-63844e206092Source snippet
Watch GaryRichard “Richie” Jerimovich (Ebon Moss-Bachrach) and Michael “Mikey” Berzatto (Jon Bernthal) go a on a work trip to Gary, India...
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Source: spreaker.com
Title: gary mckinnon the hacker who found nasa s ufo non terrestrial officers 70473181
Link: https://www.spreaker.com/episode/gary-mckinnon-the-hacker-who-found-nasa-s-ufo-non-terrestrial-officers–70473181Source snippet
Gary McKinnon: The Hacker Who Found NASA's UFO &...5 Mar 2026 — This episode is a casual, banter-filled deep dive into Gary McKinnon's N...
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Source: youtube.com
Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y6Is7809XFUSource snippet
"PERFECTLY SMOOTH SHELL OF A CRAFT." GARY...GARY McKINNON'S FIRST INTERVIEW IN YEARS. UK citizen Gary McKinnon is the most famous UFO "h...
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Source: youtube.com
Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sfRcl5rmydISource snippet
America's Secret Space Program and the Alien ConnectionAmerica's Secret Space Program and the Alien Connection Gary McKinnon was obsessed...
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Source: youtube.com
Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=20rWFDfh68YSource snippet
Ancient Aliens: Hacking NASA Secrets (Season 12, Episode 9...Computer hacker, Gary McKinnon, claims to have uncovered undeniable proof o...
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