Project 10073 Record Card — Colorado Springs, Colorado, 27 September 1956

On 27 September 1956, at 1804Z, a sighting of an unidentified aerial phenomenon was reported in the vicinity of Colorado Springs, Colorado. The event involved four witnesses, including a control tower operator at Peterson Field and an observer located ten miles north of Colorado Springs. The witnesses described a single, round, bright object with an orange tinge and a prominent orangish tail, estimated to be twenty times the size of the main body. The object was observed for a duration of two to three seconds, during which it streaked downward at an approximate 75-degree angle at a very high rate of speed before disappearing behind a range of mountains. The sighting was investigated by 2/LT Joseph A. Machyowsky, an Assistant Operations Control Officer, who interviewed two of the four witnesses. Based on the reported characteristics—specifically the size, tail, duration, and flight path—the official conclusion reached by the investigating authorities was that the object was a daytime meteor. The report was processed through the 4622D AISS at Ent AFB and transmitted to the Air Technical Intelligence Center at Wright-Patterson AFB and the Director of Intelligence at HQ USAF.