Project 10073 Record Card: Sighting of Unknown Object, 24 November 1958

This document is a Project 10073 record card and associated correspondence regarding an aerial sighting on 24 November 1958. A flight crew aboard a WB-50 aircraft, operating out of Burtonwood RAF Station, England, reported observing an unidentified object while flying 90 miles northeast of Iceland at an altitude of 30,000 feet. The sighting occurred at 1725Z and lasted for approximately four minutes. The witness, a senior pilot with 3,100 hours of flight experience, described the object as appearing like a star of medium intensity, roughly the size of a pinhead. The object rose from the aircraft's right quartering rear, traversed an arc across the flight path with a maximum elevation of 35 degrees, and disappeared to the left of the aircraft's nose. During the observation, the object increased in brightness for 15 seconds and then faded for 15 seconds. The crew noted no sound, no tail, no exhaust, and no unusual features. The co-pilot initially suspected a falling meteorite, but the duration of the event led the crew to believe it was an earth satellite. Weather conditions were reported as clear overhead with a scattered deck of strata cumulus at 5,000 feet and visibility of 100 miles. The report concludes with the assessment that the object was 'Probably Delta #1.' The documentation includes a formal statement from the aircraft commander and a transmittal letter from the European Northern Disposition Task Force to the Assistant Chief of Staff, Intelligence, at USAF Headquarters in Washington, D.C.