Project 10073 Record Cards and Related Correspondence — San Antonio, Texas, September 1957

This document collection contains a series of Project 10073 record cards and associated military teletype messages regarding unidentified aerial phenomena reported in the vicinity of San Antonio, Texas, during September 1957. The reports detail multiple sightings, including one on September 14, 1957, involving seven circular, blue-white objects described as being the size of a large pinhead. These objects were observed drifting slowly in a westerly direction for approximately five minutes before fading from sight. Another report from September 20, 1957, describes a single round, bluish-white object, also pinhead-sized, which remained in view for twenty minutes. Investigators noted that this sighting might have been astronomical, specifically the star Arcturus, or possibly Venus or Jupiter, though they lacked a 1957 ephemeris to confirm. A third report from September 30, 1957, involves a witness, Albert R. Bultler, who observed a round object the size of a pencil eraser that displayed red, yellow, white, and blue colors. This object reportedly hovered, made tight turns, and then departed at high speed. Military evaluators consistently noted that the lack of precise elevation and azimuth data rendered these reports difficult to evaluate properly. The documents also include correspondence regarding a separate, broader inquiry into a radar track reported from Martha's Vineyard to Omaha, which the Air Technical Intelligence Center (ATIC) stated they had no official record of. The weather bureau provided context for some sightings, suggesting that atmospheric conditions, such as sunlight reflecting off smoke layers, could cause color variations that might be mistaken for small, round objects. Overall, the military concluded that the San Antonio sightings were either descriptive of aircraft, potentially astronomical, or lacked sufficient data for a definitive explanation.