Project 10073 Record Card — Dallas, Texas, 5 April 1959

This document is a Project 10073 record card and associated military teletype correspondence detailing a UFO sighting reported in Dallas, Texas, on April 5, 1959. Four witnesses, including an adult male, an adult female, and two teenagers, observed a round object, described as being the size of a dime, which changed from a shiny silver color to a deep red. The witnesses reported that the object broke into three major parts before fading out of sight over a duration of approximately 30 minutes. The observation was made using 7-power binoculars. The military investigation, conducted by A/1C David A. Spalding, concluded that the witnesses likely observed the planet Mars. The report suggests that a high haze layer created an optical illusion, causing the object to appear to break apart and fade. The investigators noted that the lack of apparent motion and the long duration of the sighting supported the conclusion that the object was astronomical in nature. Additionally, the report references a news article from the Dallas Times Herald dated April 7, 1959, which described a meteor sighting in California on the same night that also reportedly broke into three pieces. The military report acknowledges this, noting that the incident in Dallas might have been the same meteor or a similar event. The documentation includes technical details such as weather conditions, which were reported as clear, and confirms that there was no radar contact associated with the sighting. The reliability of the witnesses was assessed as 'reliable, probably true.'