Project 10073 Record Card — Wheelus AFB, Libya, 10 September 1957

This document consists of a Project 10073 Record Card and an associated teletype report regarding an unidentified aerial phenomenon observed on 10 September 1957 near Wheelus AFB, Libya. The witness, a helicopter pilot from the 23rd Helicopter Squadron, Detachment 3, reported observing a single spherical, yellowish-orange object at approximately 1830Z. The witness initially believed the object was a shooting star but changed his mind due to the object's erratic flight path. The object was observed for three to four minutes and traveled in a northeasterly direction. The report notes that the object did not change size during the observation. The weather conditions at the time were reported as clear with a full moon and winds from the north at approximately eight knots. The official conclusion recorded on the Project 10073 card is that the object was an aircraft, with the comment that nothing indicated it was not a normal aircraft and that the flight and duration were consistent with that assessment. However, a handwritten note on the teletype report suggests an alternative possibility, stating that it is very possible a weather balloon had been released in the vicinity of the observer. The note further remarks that the size of the object suggests it was at a very high altitude where it would catch the sun's rays, though it acknowledges that the flight path described by the observer makes it difficult to rule out a balloon entirely, while also noting the observer could be mistaken.