Project 10073 Record Card — Argentina, 5 April 1960

This document consists of a Project 10073 record card and an associated military cable regarding an aerial sighting in Argentina on April 5, 1960. At 2157 hours, a large orange object was observed in the southern sky of Argentina. The object was described as moving toward the southwest and traveling slower than a typical meteor, with a distinct color. The sighting was reported by the President of the Bahia Blanca Astronomical Center, who noted that the object appeared to be a satellite decay. The military cable, which references an Associated Press report, confirms that the object was observed passing between stars K and E of the constellation Eridanus. The witness, given their professional background, expressed a high degree of confidence—nine chances in ten—that the event was a satellite decay. The official conclusion recorded by ATIC is that the object was indeed the decay of Sputnik III, noting that the observer's qualifications made it unlikely that the object was a meteor.