Unidentified Flying Object Observed Florissant, Missouri, 30 May 53

This document contains a report regarding an unidentified flying object observed in Florissant, Missouri, on May 30, 1953. A civilian witness reported seeing a white, star-sized object moving in an eastward direction from the west. The witness observed the object through eight-power glasses, noting that it moved in a series of eight surges or spurts at one-second intervals, followed by a two-second pause before it eventually blended into the sky and stars. The witness expressed the opinion that the object was not a plane or a star. The report was initially received by the St. Louis Field Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation and subsequently forwarded to the Air Force's 12th District Office of Special Investigations. The Air Technical Intelligence Center (ATIC) investigated the report, requesting data from the U.S. Weather Bureau in St. Louis regarding balloon releases and wind conditions at the time of the sighting. The Weather Bureau responded that while they did not record the exact release time of the specific balloon in question, a pilot balloon was released near 0240Z on June 3, 1953, and provided wind data for the relevant altitude. The official conclusion reached by the Air Force investigation was that the object was possibly a balloon.