Project 10073 Record Card — Fort Sill, Oklahoma, 8 October 1959

On October 8, 1959, at 2350Z, multiple observers in the vicinity of Fort Sill and Lawton, Oklahoma, reported a sighting of an unidentified aerial object. The witnesses, including military personnel from the 16th Weather Squadron and local civilians, described the object as a round, blue-white entity that appeared to turn orange at sunset. When viewed through a 90x telescope, the object was observed to have a ridge encircling it and exhibited a rocking motion, during which it appeared more teardrop-shaped than round. The object was estimated to be at an altitude of approximately 30,000 feet and was observed for a duration of two hours. Observers noted that the object's blue-white light appeared to be sunlight reflecting through the object rather than light being emitted by it. The object was seen moving generally in the direction of the wind, traveling from the WSW toward the SE. Military investigators from the Air Technical Intelligence Center at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base evaluated the report. They concluded that the object's characteristics, including its slow movement and trajectory, were consistent with a large experimental balloon. Despite this conclusion, inquiries into known activities in the immediate area that might utilize such a balloon yielded negative results. Ink drawings of the object were filed at the headquarters.