Project 10073 Record Card — West Branch, Michigan, 29 November 1959

This document contains the Project 10073 record card and associated correspondence regarding a UFO sighting reported by a brakeman near West Branch, Michigan, on November 29, 1959. The witness, while driving north on Highway 76, observed eight evenly spaced, red, elliptical objects, approximately 30 feet long, emerging from the horizon and ascending into the clouds at high speed. The sighting lasted for approximately three seconds. The witness initially suspected the objects were reflections from a red tower light, but upon retracing the route, this explanation appeared invalid. The witness reported the incident to the state police in West Branch. The Air Force responded to the witness on December 21, 1959, via Major Lawrence J. Tacker, requesting that the witness complete a formal questionnaire for further analysis by the Aerospace Technical Intelligence Center at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base. The official conclusion recorded on the project card states that while there were indications that a reflection of some sort was observed, there was insufficient evidence to support a definitive analysis, and the case was ultimately listed as having insufficient data. The document also includes supplementary information regarding unrelated events, such as the launch of the Discoverer VII satellite and a high-altitude research rocket fired from Wallops Island, Virginia, which were part of the International Geophysical Year activities, providing context for potential aerial phenomena reported during that period.