PROJECT 10073 RECORD CARD — 28-29 July 1954, Camp Crook, Rapid City, S.D.

This document consists of a Project 10073 record card and an accompanying teletype message dated July 29, 1954, concerning a series of unidentified aerial phenomena reported near Rapid City, South Dakota. The initial report, occurring at 0500Z, described a single black object with jet-like exhaust that appeared to fall, traveling very fast from east to west. The witness, identified as a Mister [illegible] located in Camp Crook, reported that the object exploded once in the air and again upon reaching the ground. No sound was heard other than the explosions. Following this, at 0405Z, the Rapid City Filter Center and airline dispatchers began receiving numerous calls regarding unidentified objects in the area. By 0621Z, reports indicated that between 50 and 100 objects were observed over Rapid City, prompting the scrambling of military aircraft for identification. The official conclusion reached by the evaluating agency, ATIC, was that the sightings were the result of a meteor shower. The comments section of the record card notes that thin cloud layers at 18,000 and 20,000 feet likely caused visual distortion, contributing to the reports. The teletype message confirms that pilots scrambled for the incident believed the objects were caused by the thin layer of clouds and a large amount of falling stars in the area.