Project 10073 Record Card and Unidentified Flying Object Report — Minot AFS, North Dakota, 14 June 1959

This document consists of a Project 10073 record card and an associated teletype report detailing an Unidentified Flying Object sighting that occurred on June 14, 1959, at Minot Air Force Base, North Dakota. The primary witness was 1st Lieutenant Theodore L. Raff, an operations officer at a radar site, who was noted as being extremely reliable. At approximately 0352Z, the witness observed a round, light green object that appeared smaller than a dime from his vantage point. The object was initially seen 20 degrees above the horizon, moving from right to left while diving. The witness reported that the object maintained a steady flight path until it broke into three separate objects. One of these objects subsequently accelerated away from the other two at a speed significantly faster than the others. The witness explicitly noted the absence of any tail, exhaust, or sound associated with the object. The sighting lasted for less than one minute under clear sky conditions with 15 miles of visibility. No radar contact was reported, and no photographs were taken. The official conclusion recorded on the project card is that the phenomenon was 'probably a meteor.' The report was transmitted from the 786th ACW Squadron at Minot AFS to the Air Defense Command at Ent AFB, with information copies sent to the 29th Air Division at Malmstrom AFB and the Air Technical Intelligence Center (ATIC) at Wright-Patterson AFB.