Project 10073 Record Card: Sighting of an Unknown Object, 22 January 1951

This document details a sighting incident occurring on 22 January 1951, involving two U.S. Air Force officers, Captain Ernest W. Spradley and Captain James E. Cocker. While conducting a test mission for Project Gopher, the officers were tracking a high-altitude balloon from a C-47 aircraft at approximately 11,000 feet. The balloon, which was at an altitude of over 70,000 feet, was accompanied by a 'milky white,' circular object that appeared to be star-like. The object maintained a constant position relative to the balloon for approximately three minutes before detaching and moving westward at high speed, emitting orange sparks and brilliant flashes of light at one-second intervals. The officers reported the incident to officials at Holloman Air Force Base and subsequently to Major Kodis of the Electronics Sub-Division. The official conclusion reached by the Air Technical Intelligence Center (ATIC) was that the object was not an unidentified craft, but rather the result of gas leaking from the balloon, with the observed flashes and color attributed to the explosion of the escaping gas and the atmospheric conditions at that altitude. The document also includes secondary communications regarding unrelated flare sightings in Alaska, which were investigated by the Alaskan Command and determined to be of no military concern. The primary report is documented on a Project 10073 record card and supported by a formal routing and record sheet signed by Captain Spradley.