Project 10073 Record Card — Tehachapi, California, 28 October 1956

This document is a Project 10073 record card and associated teletype report detailing an unidentified aerial phenomenon sighting on October 28, 1956, in Tehachapi, California. The witness, an inmate at the Tehachapi Institute for Men, observed a round, silver object for approximately 25 minutes using binoculars. The object was described as being the size of a dime at arm's length and was initially stationary at tree-top level before moving south and slowly disappearing. The witness reported the object as having a 'loud' sound. The military investigation, conducted by the 750th ACWRON and evaluated by the Air Technical Intelligence Center (ATIC), considered several possibilities. The report notes that the object's movement was contrary to prevailing winds, which were blowing to the east, making a balloon identification unlikely. The investigators ultimately concluded that there was insufficient data to definitively identify the object. They suggested that the sighting might have been a reflection of sunlight off a metal object on the ground, such as an automobile, and noted that the reported sound could have been caused by thunderstorms in the area. The report explicitly rules out an aircraft due to the duration of the observation.