Report of Soviet Earth Satellite Sighting — Congressional Inquiry

This collection of documents details the investigation into a reported sighting of a Soviet satellite, specifically Sputnik I, by a civilian source in Dallas, Texas. The source claimed to have observed a glowing, white, spherical object falling straight down near New Orleans, Louisiana, on 2 January 1958. The report was initially forwarded to the Air Technical Intelligence Center (ATIC) and subsequently became a matter of Congressional interest after the source wrote to Senator Lyndon B. Johnson. The Air Force conducted a thorough investigation, involving the Office of Special Investigations (OSI), the FBI, and the 19th Air Division at Carswell Air Force Base. Investigators interviewed the source and his nephew in March 1958. During these interviews, the source's reliability was questioned; he admitted he could not be certain of what he saw, suggesting it might have been an airplane light or a falling star. The investigation revealed that the source had been unemployed and had become obsessed with satellite news, even fearing his telephone was being tapped. ATIC concluded that the object was not a satellite, as Sputnik I did not begin its atmospheric decay until 3 January 1958. The case was officially evaluated as a meteor sighting. The documents include internal routing slips, memoranda between military offices, and copies of the original handwritten letter from the source to Senator Johnson. The Air Force maintained that the case was handled with thoroughness to resolve the sighting despite the source's inconsistent testimony and the lack of corroborating radar or visual reports from other sources. The file was eventually closed with the determination that no further action was required.