A NASA astronaut has claimed he once saw an "alien-like, organic object" floating outside his space shuttle.

Leland Melvin, 54, worked as an engineer on board Atlantis when he spotted the "translucent" item while orbiting Earth.

4 The US astronaut said he saw an 'alien-like, organic' object while he was in space Credit: Getty Images - Getty

He admits that NASA said the incident was just ice breaking away from the vessel.

In a chat on Twitter with fans about his experiences in space he was asked if he had ever seen any aliens or UFOs.

Melvin revealed that he had seen “something, organic, alien-like” in the payload bay of the shuttle when he was working with colleague Randy Bresnik.

The astronaut said the object he saw was “translucent, curved, organic looking” – ending his tweet with an alien emoji.

4 The space shuttle Atlantis lifts off from the Kennedy Space Center in July 2011 Credit: AP:Associated Press

4 Leland Melvin (second left) waves as the crew head to board Atlantis Credit: Getty - Contributor

4 Leland said NASA told him the object was just ice that had broken off from Atlantis Credit: Getty Images - Getty

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He wrote: “I have not seen [a UFO] in space or on the ground but thought I saw something organic/alien like floating out of the payload bay.

"Randy Bresnik and I called the ground to ask what it could be and it was ice that had broken off of the Freon hoses.

Melvin was then asked if he thought NASA had just told him that to keep him calm, he replied: “Hmm I don’t think so, but you never know."

He added: "I was about to say Houston we have a problem but know everyone spins-up when those words are uttered from a space vehicle.”

The Space Shuttle Atlantis flew 33 missions during its lifetime and was retired along with the rest of the fleet in 2011.

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