Project 10073 Record Card and Joint Messageform — New Orleans, Louisiana, 21 July 1959

This document consists of a Project 10073 Record Card and a series of Joint Messageforms detailing a UFO sighting reported on July 21, 1959, near New Orleans, Louisiana. The witness, a civilian student described as fully reliable, observed a single, round, ball-like object approximately two feet in diameter. The object exhibited a color sequence of red-orange, white, and red-orange again. It was observed for a duration of 8 to 12 minutes at an altitude of approximately 2400 feet. The object moved at a speed of 20 mph, traveling from the northeast to the southwest before executing a 180-degree turn and returning toward the northeast until it disappeared. The witness described the sound of the object as smooth, similar to the sound of a hummingbird's wings. The report was filed by the Commander of the 2692d Air Reserve Center in New Orleans. Official analysis concluded that the sighting was likely a reflection of lights from an amusement park onto low-lying clouds. This conclusion was reinforced by negative reports from the Moisant International Airport and the New Orleans Airport. The document is signed by Captain John E. Massey of the USAF, who declared the mission completed.