A video shared on Facebook claims the International Space Station (ISS) captured footage of a UFO on its livestream.

“Recent #nasa ISS video footage of a #ufo,” reads the caption. “Iv (sic) increased the speed of the footage as the original is 22 minutes long.”

Verdict: False

The object captured on video is not a UFO, but rather a retired communications component being jettisoned from the ISS. A NASA spokeswoman confirmed the operation was planned in advance.

Fact Check:

UFO enthusiast Scott Waring spotted the supposed UFO while watching a Feb. 21 ISS livestream. In the video, the object in question can be seen floating below the ISS for roughly 22 minutes before disappearing from the camera’s view. (RELATED: Did NASA Spend More Than $165 Million To Develop Pens That Work In Space?)

Waring posted a video – which has over 573,600 views to date – about the object on his YouTube channel ET Data Base, where he labeled it a UFO and speculated about its origins. Some media outlets, like Metro Express and BroBible, picked up the story and similarly labeled it a UFO.

The object, however, is actually the Japanese Experiment Module Inter-orbit Communication System–Exposed Facility. It got jettisoned from the ISS at approximately 1:50 p.m. EST on Feb. 21, according to the ISS daily summary report from that day. The ISS commonly disposes of debris via controlled jettisons.

NASA astronaut Doug Wheelock explained the disposal jettison during an interview on the syndicated comedy radio program “The Rick and Bubba Show.”

“In a controlled fashion, at the right moment, at the right time and the right trajectory we released this – or we jettisoned this piece of hardware to return ashes to ashes, dust to dust back to the planet,” said Wheelock. “It’s a known piece of hardware, it’s a piece of communication hardware which we’ve upgraded since that time.”

Stephanie Schierholz, a NASA spokeswoman, confirmed to the Daily Caller News Foundation that it was “a planned event to dispose of the unused part.”

All content created by the Daily Caller News Foundation, an independent and nonpartisan newswire service, is available without charge to any legitimate news publisher that can provide a large audience. All republished articles must include our logo, our reporter’s byline and their DCNF affiliation. For any questions about our guidelines or partnering with us, please contact [email protected].