Within Celebrity UFOs
Can Celebrity Branding Change UFO Belief?
To The Stars Academy illustrates how celebrity branding can package UFO claims as entertainment, research, and advocacy at once.
On this page
- Company claims and public positioning
- Former officials and credibility signals
- Where advocacy outran public evidence
Page outline Jump by section
Introduction
To The Stars Academy of Arts & Science showed how celebrity branding can move UFO advocacy from fringe culture into mainstream attention without settling the evidence. Founded around Tom DeLonge’s public profile and a network of former defence, intelligence and aerospace figures, the organisation packaged unidentified aerial phenomena as entertainment, research, investment opportunity and public-interest campaign at the same time. That mix mattered: it helped amplify the 2017 Navy video story, fed television coverage, and made UAP sound like a governance problem rather than only a paranormal one. But its record also shows the central tension in celebrity-led UFO advocacy: visibility can attract officials, investors and audiences faster than public evidence can validate the larger claims. TTSA helped change the conversation; it did not publicly prove alien technology, reverse engineering or extraordinary aerospace breakthroughs.
Why To The Stars Became a Celebrity-UFO Test Case
To The Stars Academy was not simply a fan project by a famous musician. In its own SEC filing, the company described itself as a Delaware public benefit corporation formed in 2017 to combine aerospace, science and entertainment, with a mission built around “unresolved mysteries of the universe” and public access through media and education. Its early filing said the company was organised into three divisions: aerospace, science and entertainment. That structure is the key to understanding its cultural effect. UFO claims were not presented only as sightings; they were wrapped in a company, a brand, a media pipeline, a research posture and a public-benefit story. [Securities and Exchange Commission]sec.govurities and Exchange Commissionurities and Exchange Commission
The celebrity element was not incidental. The same SEC filing disclosed a licensing arrangement involving Tom DeLonge’s name, likeness, recordings, trademarks and related intellectual property, and said the company would produce and sell products such as novels, albums, apparel, accessories and merchandise using those rights. That made the governance issue unusually visible: a public-benefit UFO organisation was also structurally tied to a celebrity entertainment and merchandising business. [Securities and Exchange Commission]sec.govurities and Exchange Commissionurities and Exchange Commission
That hybrid model explains why TTSA could reach audiences that older UFO groups struggled to reach. A conventional UFO organisation might publish witness reports or lobby officials; TTSA could also sell books, build a fan community, produce screen content and use DeLonge’s existing public identity to make the subject feel less marginal. Its own current positioning still leans into that fusion, describing To The Stars as a collaboration between academia, industry and pop culture, and presenting itself as the first team to bring official military UAP footage and the secret Pentagon programme to broad public attention with The New York Times. [To The Stars*]tothestars.mediaTo The Stars*researchTo The Stars*research
Company Claims and Public Positioning
The strongest feature of TTSA’s public positioning was that it converted UFO belief into a “serious issues” frame. Instead of leading only with aliens, it emphasised aviation safety, military encounters, advanced aerospace possibilities, data collection and government transparency. In the company’s 2018 filing, its planned aerospace work included beamed energy propulsion, space-time metric engineering and radiation shielding materials, while its “Community of Interest” was described as a platform for storing, analysing and eventually collecting reports and data from the public, government and foreign governments. [Securities and Exchange Commission]sec.govurities and Exchange Commissionurities and Exchange Commission
This framing had two effects. First, it made UFO discussion sound less like belief and more like institutional risk management. UAP became a matter of sensors, pilots, classified programmes and possible adversary technology. Secondly, it gave entertainment products a claim to public importance: documentaries, books and web releases were not merely content but part of a wider disclosure movement.
The clearest example was the Navy video cycle. TTSA publicised fighter-jet footage that became central to the post-2017 UAP debate. In 2020, the Department of Defense formally authorised release of three unclassified Navy videos, stating that one was from November 2004 and two were from January 2015, that the videos had circulated publicly after unauthorised releases, and that the Navy had previously acknowledged them as Navy videos. The Pentagon added that the objects in the videos remained “unidentified”, a narrower claim than “extraterrestrial”. [U.S. Department of War]war.govStatement by the Department of Defense on the Release of Historical Navy Videos > U.S. Department of War > Release | U.S. Department of War…(https://www.war.gov/News/Releases/Release/Article/2165713/statement-by-the-department-of-defense-on-the-release-of-historical-navy-videos/)
That distinction is crucial. TTSA could fairly point to a real public-relations win: military footage it had helped circulate was later acknowledged as genuine Navy footage. But the official release did not validate the most expansive UFO interpretations. It confirmed provenance and unresolved status; it did not confirm alien craft, impossible performance or hidden technology.
The company also treated investor relations as part of the same public-facing machine. Its investor site says that, as a Regulation A company, TTSA filed annual and semi-annual reports with the SEC, and it listed filings through 2026. It also warned that SEC qualification of an offering statement did not mean the SEC had approved the merits, accuracy or completeness of the offering. That language matters because TTSA invited public participation not only as an audience but as investors in a story of disclosure, research and media growth. [To The Stars]ir.tothestarsinc.comTo The Stars SEC Filings — To The StarsTo The Stars SEC Filings — To The Stars
Former Officials and Credibility Signals
TTSA’s unusual power came from the way celebrity attention was paired with former official credentials. The company’s 2018 filing named Steve Justice, formerly associated with advanced aerospace and defence work, and Luis Elizondo, presented as chief of security and special programmes, as significant employees hired in October 2017. It also listed co-founders and directors including DeLonge, former intelligence officer Jim Semivan and physicist Harold Puthoff. For a mainstream reader, this was a different credibility package from the usual celebrity UFO anecdote. [Securities and Exchange Commission]sec.govurities and Exchange Commissionurities and Exchange Commission
This is where celebrity-led advocacy becomes a governance issue. DeLonge drew attention, but the former officials gave the attention a seriousness cue. Audiences were not only asked to trust a musician’s curiosity; they were shown a team that seemed to connect entertainment, defence networks and scientific ambition. The History Channel series Unidentified: Inside America’s UFO Investigation reinforced that signal, presenting Tom DeLonge alongside Luis Elizondo, Steve Justice and Chris Mellon, and describing Elizondo and Mellon as connected investigators pursuing military and civilian UAP cases. [HISTORY]history.comOpen source on history.com.
The U.S. Army CRADA was another credibility signal. A Cooperative Research and Development Agreement between To The Stars Academy and the U.S. Army Combat Capabilities Development Command Ground Vehicle Systems Center carried the title “Novel & Emerging Technology Exploitation” and listed To The Stars Academy as the collaborator. The agreement identified Luis Elizondo as TTSA’s principal investigator and preferred contact. [Nextgov/FCW]nextgov.comOpen source on nextgov.com.
TTSA’s own FAQ said the Army approached it for information about mechanical and electromagnetic metamaterials, camouflage and concealment applications, and secure quantum communications. Reporting by defence-focused outlets noted that the agreement allowed the Army to evaluate potentially useful materials and technologies, but a CRADA is not the same as government endorsement of alien origin. It is a vehicle for collaboration, testing and information exchange. [To The Stars*]tothestars.mediacrada faqcrada faq
That gap between “officials are involved” and “the larger claim is proven” is the recurring pattern. Former officials can make a claim worth examining, and official collaborations can justify attention. They do not, by themselves, settle what an object was, whether a material is extraordinary, or whether a secret recovery programme exists.
Where Advocacy Outran Public Evidence
The most important criticism of TTSA is not that it made UFOs visible. It is that its visibility often ran ahead of what the public record could bear. Wired’s early analysis of the Pentagon-video story noted that To The Stars launched a video-centred site on the same day as the 2017 newspaper coverage and described the clips as official UAP footage, while questions remained about release procedures, paperwork and interpretation. The problem was not that the videos were fake; the Pentagon later confirmed they were genuine Navy videos. The problem was that authenticity of footage is weaker than proof of extraordinary origin. [WIRED]wired.comWhat Is Up With Those Pentagon UFO Videos?What Is Up With Those Pentagon UFO Videos?
Financial disclosures also complicated the public story. TTSA’s filing showed that its entertainment division created and sold music, novels, films and merchandise, with most 2017 revenue coming from online operations. It also stated that the aerospace and science divisions had no raw materials or suppliers at that time, and that the company had incurred only about $6,000 in third-party research and development costs in 2017, alongside additional internal costs. That does not make the company illegitimate, but it shows that the public image of a frontier science organisation depended heavily on an entertainment-business foundation. [Securities and Exchange Commission]sec.govurities and Exchange Commissionurities and Exchange Commission
The 2017 figures became a public controversy because the company recorded very large stock-based compensation expenses and an accumulated deficit. Ars Technica reported in 2018 that the project had raised just over $1 million in outside funding while recording a $37.4 million deficit, and other coverage noted DeLonge’s objection that this was a stockholders’ deficit tied largely to stock-based compensation rather than ordinary operating debt. The more cautious interpretation is that the headline “debt” framing could mislead, while the filings still showed a speculative, early-stage company whose UFO research ambitions were not matched by mature public research outputs. [Ars Technica+2altpress.com]arstechnica.comall the dumb things blink 182 front mans ufo project 37 millionall the dumb things blink 182 front mans ufo project 37 million
The broader evidentiary problem became sharper after official reviews. AARO’s 2024 historical report said it found no evidence that any U.S. government investigation, academic-sponsored research or official review panel had confirmed a UAP sighting as extraterrestrial, and no empirical evidence that the government or private companies had been reverse-engineering extraterrestrial technology. AARO also concluded that a sample alleged to come from an off-world craft and acquired from a private UAP organisation and the U.S. Army was a manufactured terrestrial alloy with no exceptional qualities. [U.S. Department of War]war.govStatement by the Department of Defense on the Release of Historical Navy Videos > U.S. Department of War > Release | U.S. Department of War…(https://media.defense.gov/2024/Mar/08/2003409233/-1/-1/0/DOPSR-2024-0263-AARO-HISTORICAL-RECORD-REPORT-VOLUME-1-2024.PDF)
AARO’s conclusions are contested by some disclosure advocates, but they mark the difference between advocacy success and evidentiary success. TTSA and its network helped push government and media institutions to treat UAP as a topic worthy of attention. The public evidence available through official channels still falls short of the more dramatic claims often associated with UFO disclosure.
What Celebrity Branding Changed
TTSA’s lasting importance is best understood as agenda-setting. It helped alter who felt permitted to discuss UFOs. Before the 2017–2020 cycle, a celebrity UFO story was usually treated as a curiosity, a late-night anecdote or a fandom footnote. TTSA helped make a different version possible: a celebrity-fronted organisation could sit beside former intelligence personnel, defence contractors, documentary producers and government paperwork.
That did not make celebrity evidence stronger in itself. A famous advocate can draw attention to a valid problem, but fame can also blur the line between evidence, access and narrative momentum. TTSA’s model encouraged the public to see a cluster of signals — Tom DeLonge’s confidence, former officials’ titles, Navy footage, a History Channel series, investor filings, an Army CRADA — as mutually reinforcing. Some of those signals were real and consequential. None automatically proved the strongest interpretation of the phenomenon.
The governance lesson is that celebrity-led UFO advocacy can be effective without being conclusive. It can reduce stigma, pressure institutions, attract witnesses, create media infrastructure and push for transparency. It can also create incentives to over-package uncertainty, turn unresolved evidence into branded anticipation, and mix public-interest language with commercial entertainment.
The Takeaway for UFOs and Celebrities
To The Stars Academy is the clearest modern example of how a celebrity can do more than tell a UFO story. Tom DeLonge helped build an organisation that translated UFO interest into filings, shows, merchandise, official-adjacent partnerships and a public campaign for disclosure. That changed the visibility of the subject and helped bring UAP into a national-security and governance frame.
The evidence record is more restrained. The Pentagon confirmed that the famous Navy videos were real Navy videos and still unidentified; it did not confirm extraterrestrial craft. TTSA formed real relationships and generated real media impact; it did not publicly demonstrate the advanced technologies or hidden alien-recovery claims that often travel with UFO advocacy. That is why TTSA matters most as a case study in influence: celebrity branding can change what institutions and audiences pay attention to, even when the underlying evidence remains unresolved.
Amazon book picks
Further Reading
Books and field guides related to Can Celebrity Branding Change UFO Belief?. Use these as the next step if you want deeper reading beyond the article.
Sekret Machines: Gods
Written by the founder of To The Stars and reflects the surrounding ideas.
eBay marketplace picks
Marketplace Samples
Live-tested eBay searches with available results related to this page.
Endnotes
-
Source: sec.gov
Title: urities and Exchange Commission
Link: https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1710274/000114420418023727/tv492460_partii.htm -
Source: war.gov
Title: U.S. Department of War
Link: https://www.war.gov/News/Releases/Release/Article/2165713/statement-by-the-department-of-defense-on-the-release-of-historical-navy-videos/Source snippet
Statement by the Department of Defense on the Release of Historical Navy Videos > U.S. Department of War > Release | U.S. Department of War...
-
Source: history.com
Link: https://www.history.com/shows/unidentified-inside-americas-ufo-investigation -
Source: nextgov.com
Link: https://www.nextgov.com/media/gbc/docs/pdfs_edit/ng_ttsa_crada.pdf -
Source: wired.com
Title: What Is Up With Those [Pentagon UFO Videos]({{ ‘navy-videos/’ | relative_url }})?
Link: https://www.wired.com/story/what-is-up-with-those-pentagon-ufo-videos -
Source: altpress.com
Title: tom delonge to the stars academy debt
Link: https://www.altpress.com/tom-delonge-to-the-stars-academy-debt/ -
Source: media.defense.gov
Title: U.S. Department of War AARO Historical Record Report Volume 1
Link: https://media.defense.gov/2024/Mar/08/2003409233/-1/-1/0/DOPSR-2024-0263-AARO-HISTORICAL-RECORD-REPORT-VOLUME-1-2024.PDF -
Source: aaro.mil
Title: AARO Historical Record Report Vol 1 2024
Link: https://www.aaro.mil/Portals/136/PDFs/AARO_Historical_Record_Report_Vol_1_2024.pdf -
Source: aaro.mil
Title: Next UAP Report Documents
Link: https://www.aaro.mil/Next-AARO-Home-redesign/Next-Parent/Next-UAP-Report-Documents/ -
Source: aaro.mil
Link: https://www.aaro.mil/UAP-Cases/Official-UAP-Imagery/ -
Source: sec.gov
Title: tv525071 253g2
Link: https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1710274/000114420419034515/tv525071_253g2.htm -
Source: sec.gov
Link: https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1710274/000110465920072815/tm2022367d1_partii.htm -
Source: sec.gov
Link: https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1710274/000114420417043466/v473169_partiiandiii.htm -
Source: sec.gov
Link: https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1710274/000149315222011769/partii.htm -
Source: sec.gov
Link: https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1710274/000114420418050766/tv503167_1sa.htm -
Source: nextgov.com
Title: army partners ufo researchers study active camouflage and other sci fi tech
Link: https://www.nextgov.com/emerging-tech/2019/10/army-partners-ufo-researchers-study-active-camouflage-and-other-sci-fi-tech/160787/ -
Source: animated-character-database.fandom.com
Title: Luis Elizondo
Link: https://animated-character-database.fandom.com/wiki/Luis_Elizondo -
Source: tothestars.media
Title: To The Stars*research
Link: https://tothestars.media/pages/research?srsltid=AfmBOoo3E1U9EzGp0usuAcVxq9CA-23mLpJt2ALCYxweurwbRfOS8d6y -
Source: ir.tothestarsinc.com
Title: To The Stars SEC Filings — To The Stars
Link: https://ir.tothestarsinc.com/sec-filings-1 -
Source: tothestars.media
Title: crada faq
Link: https://tothestars.media/en-gb/blogs/press-and-news/crada-faq?srsltid=AfmBOoqVXMuZtA3r7XrXQ_xj6DP98l7u61eV4tg98RuFy9LnHsJbyL8U -
Source: arstechnica.com
Title: all the dumb things blink 182 front mans ufo project 37 million
Link: https://arstechnica.com/science/2018/10/all-the-dumb-things-blink-182-front-mans-ufo-project-37-million/ -
Source: Wikipedia
Title: To The Stars Inc
Link: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/To_The_Stars_Inc -
Source: Wikipedia
Title: To the Stars
Link: https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/To_the_Stars -
Source: Wikipedia
Title: Luis Elizondo
Link: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luis_Elizondo -
Source: reddit.com
Title: to the stars academy of arts science ttsa
Link: https://www.reddit.com/r/ufo/comments/dj6edu/to_the_stars_academy_of_arts_science_ttsa/ -
Source: facebook.com
Title: to the stars academy will be bringing sekret machines to the world through a maj
Link: https://www.facebook.com/officialtomdelonge/photos/to-the-stars-academy-will-be-bringing-sekret-machines-to-the-world-through-a-maj/1617134338308899/ -
Source: tothestars.media
Link: https://tothestars.media/pages/about?srsltid=AfmBOoq-R2tmAeMPzJd2oXfrysD7GDLxlxNEHiX8QKNeRp2nXWQMHtwF -
Source: tothestars.media
Link: https://tothestars.media/blogs/press-and-news/to-the-stars-academy-of-arts-science-acknowledges-the-pentagons-official-release-of-uap-video-footage?srsltid=AfmBOorrmFPRsE7_W47fGZ74p8ztm_SKw48ZtGrx0ytteMKdR0RzhzY8 -
Source: tothestars.media
Link: https://tothestars.media/blogs/press-and-news/to-the-stars-academy-of-arts-science-acknowledges-the-pentagons-official-release-of-uap-video-footage?srsltid=AfmBOopAlVFau1GWv-YjDq0h2UIXTRIL22RAW5NByOCs-MdLKH17zI7j -
Source: tothestars.media
Title: elizondo leaves pentagon to join to the stars academy of arts science
Link: https://tothestars.media/en-de/blogs/press-and-news/elizondo-leaves-pentagon-to-join-to-the-stars-academy-of-arts-science?srsltid=AfmBOooeOII9p0mIoeOkfbXDBhwqpyWjEFddz8kQqNt0A-fHiXqjtGS- -
Source: tothestars.media
Title: ttsa announces crada with u s army ccdc
Link: https://tothestars.media/blogs/press-and-news/ttsa-announces-crada-with-u-s-army-ccdc?srsltid=AfmBOop5k0Pj0yHQtPBWDLUGIEq8FvX8J-8Fierdq6nbE8Ir1Bj9YMc7 -
Source: tothestars.media
Link: https://tothestars.media/blogs/press-and-news/crada-faq?srsltid=AfmBOorumSY52IdwYIXZWc1IV_px20i3pcdiW5pB7jxO2qapg__y-Scw -
Source: tothestars.media
Title: to the stars academy history channel bring you 6 part docuseries in may
Link: https://tothestars.media/blogs/press-and-news/to-the-stars-academy-history-channel-bring-you-6-part-docuseries-in-may?srsltid=AfmBOooJrn4mjO31NoB0adHhj5oyeLjPpsGXXem9jA2_GZy9yNu3-16J -
Source: tothestars.media
Link: https://tothestars.media/blogs/press-and-news/to-the-stars-academy-of-arts-science-acknowledges-the-pentagons-official-release-of-uap-video-footage?srsltid=AfmBOoprONAFxDNrogvcSd_hXn0phAwfJIrkeNirdPDVQg1pq1Z_7nmh -
Source: aegm.com
Link: https://www.aegm.com/article/history-greenlights-new-limited-non-fiction-series-unidentified-inside-americas-ufo-investigation-executive-produced-by-tom-delonge -
Source: prnewswire.com
Link: https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/to-the-stars-academy-of-arts–science-announces-crada-with-the-us-army-combat-capabilities-development-command-to-advance-materiel-and-technology-innovations-300940211.html -
Source: to-the-stars.webflow.io
Link: https://to-the-stars.webflow.io/ -
Source: us.mensa.org
Title: to the stars academy unafraid to investigate the unexplained
Link: https://www.us.mensa.org/read/bulletin/features/to-the-stars-academy-unafraid-to-investigate-the-unexplained/
Additional References
-
Source: youtube.com
Title: Tom Delonge Talks UFO Video Release and ‘the Best Record’ of His Life
Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=96a6Bh4KewsSource snippet
U.S. Navy discloses existence of "unidentified aerial phenomena"...
-
Source: youtube.com
Title: How blink-182’s Singer Proved That [Aliens Exist]({{ ‘aliens-exist/’ | relative_url }})
Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CDZ40bmirVoSource snippet
Tom Delonge: Skinwalkers & CIA Spooks | With Jim Semivan...
-
Source: medium.com
Link: https://medium.com/six-articles/5-the-new-architecture-tracing-the-apparatus-of-the-modern-ufo-disclosure-push-afd40ed1c381 -
Source: facebook.com
Link: https://www.facebook.com/officialtomdelonge/videos/unidentified-inside-americas-ufo-investigation-gets-green-light-for-season-2/2100866710219221/ -
Source: amazon.nl
Link: https://www.amazon.nl/-/en/Unidentified-Inside-Americas-Investigation-Season/dp/B084DFY58D?tag=searcht-20 -
Source: reddit.com
Link: https://www.reddit.com/r/Blink182/comments/1k4nico/is_tom_still_active_in_to_the_stars_are_they/ -
Source: facebook.com
Link: https://www.facebook.com/8NewsNOW/posts/luis-lue-elizondo-spent-most-of-his-career-working-in-the-shadows-as-a-senior-co/1306217024873191/ -
Source: facebook.com
Link: https://www.facebook.com/KESQNewsChannel3/posts/newly-declassified-videos-of-ufos-the-pentagon-says-theyre-incidents-the-governm/1435127275309265/ -
Source: facebook.com
Link: https://www.facebook.com/NewsNationNow/posts/ross-coulthart-and-luis-elizondo-two-noted-figures-in-the-study-of-unidentified-/993309193076098/ -
Source: rockcellarmagazine.com
Link: https://rockcellarmagazine.com/tom-delonge-blink-182-ufo-report-ny-times-to-the-stars-luis-elizondo/
Topic Tree