Project 10073 Record Card — Syracuse, New York, 14 May 1955

On May 14, 1955, at 0250Z, a 31-year-old member of the Air Force Reserve and amateur astronomer observed an unidentified aerial object from the north side of Syracuse, New York. The witness described the object as a single, small, reddish, star-shaped entity that appeared at the zenith. The object was observed for a few minutes as it undulated and drifted toward the southwest. The witness reported the sighting to the 32nd Air Division at Syracuse Air Force Station. Following the report, the COC Duty Officer, Captain Gerald T. Hamilton, along with five airmen, went outside to investigate but reported seeing nothing unusual. The official evaluation, documented on a Project 10073 record card, concluded that the object was likely a weather balloon. This determination was based on an analysis of local wind conditions and the known release times for weather balloons in the area, which the investigators believed strongly suggested a balloon was the cause of the sighting. The report was filed in accordance with Air Force Regulation 200-2, dated August 12, 1954, and was transmitted to the Air Defense Command at Ent Air Force Base, the Air Technical Intelligence Center at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, and the Director of Intelligence at the United States Air Force headquarters in Washington, D.C.