Project 10073 Record Card — Sighting of 6 October 1959

On October 6, 1959, at 0601 GMT, the crew of the vessel MV Defender reported an unidentified aerial object while located approximately 114 miles east of Cape Canaveral, Florida, at coordinates 28 degrees 54 minutes North, 78 degrees 28 minutes West. The witnesses described the object as moving at high speed in an East by North direction. The object was surrounded by a reddish-yellow halo or light. Both the glow and the object disappeared from sight near the star Rigel in the constellation Orion. When the area was searched with glasses, a flashing white light was observed for a few seconds. The MV Defender was on a course of 065 degrees true at 13 knots at the time of the observation. The incident was reported through military channels, including the Department of the Air Force Staff Message Division. Subsequent investigation involved contact with Colonel Hooks, the Range Operations Officer at Cape Canaveral. It was determined that a Thor missile had been fired from the base on the same date. The official conclusion reached by the Air Technical Intelligence Center (ATIC) was that the sighting was likely the Thor missile, and that the reported headings were coincidental.