Project 10073 Record Card — Alexandria, Virginia, 23 March 1958

This document contains a Project 10073 record card and subsequent correspondence regarding an unidentified aerial phenomenon reported in Alexandria, Virginia, on March 23, 1958. A civilian witness reported observing an orange or yellowish object, roughly the size of a star in the handle of the Big Dipper, traversing the sky from the West-Southwest to the East-Northeast over a period of 10 to 12 seconds. The witness noted that the object had no tail and did not appear to burn like a meteor, though it moved at a uniform rate before disappearing in the East-Southeast. The report was processed by T Sgt James Bolieu of AFIC-434. In a follow-up letter dated April 14, 1958, Major Lawrence J. Tacker of the USAF Office of Information Services informed the witness that a check of earth satellite orbital tracks confirmed the object was not a satellite. The official conclusion reached by the investigating authorities was that, while not conclusively identified, the object was likely a slow-moving meteor entering the atmosphere at a shallow angle, which accounted for its appearance and duration. The report was filed for inclusion in the ongoing study and investigation of aerial phenomena.