Project 10073 Record Card and Air Intelligence Information Reports — Fort Bragg, North Carolina, 16 May 1958

This document consists of a collection of Air Intelligence Information Reports and a Project 10073 Record Card detailing an Unidentified Flying Object sighting that occurred on 16 May 1958 at 0257Z near Fort Bragg, North Carolina. The object was observed by two separate parties, including Lt. Colonel William D. Chrietzberg of the 56th Field Artillery Group and a Doctor of Psychology from the American Embassy in The Hague. The witnesses described the object as a round, red-orange light, appearing slightly larger than the planet Mars or the size of a baseball held at arm's length. The object was reported to be traveling at 'terrific speed' along a 360-degree path before fading from sight into broken cloud cover. The reports indicate that the weather was clear with good visibility. Official evaluations by the Air Technical Intelligence Center (ATIC) concluded that there was no radar confirmation of a satellite track, but the sighting was characteristic of orbital observation. The final assessment suggested the object was likely the 1958 Gamma satellite or Sputnik III. Intelligence officers noted that the location of the sighting was situated over a major north-south air traffic airway, suggesting the possibility of misidentified aircraft, though the final conclusion leaned toward orbital phenomena.