Project 10073 Record Card — Kettering, Ohio, 2 July 1960

This document is a Project 10073 record card and associated technical information sheet detailing a sighting of an unidentified aerial phenomenon in Kettering, Ohio, on 2 July 1960. The witness, a 31-year-old male, reported observing a round, bluish-white 'ball of fire' at approximately 0230 local time. The object, which the witness estimated to be traveling at 600 MPH, appeared to brighten and turn more blue, illuminating the surrounding area before disappearing behind a tree. The duration of the sighting was approximately 2.5 seconds. The witness noted that the object was about the size of a T-33 wingspan at 5,000 feet and that there was no sound associated with the event.

Internal notes from Captain Roi F. [illegible] of the Air Technical Intelligence Center (ATIC) provide additional context. The report indicates that the sighting corresponded with numerous other reports around 0238 Eastern time, including reports from the Indiana State Police to the Terre Haute Center regarding a blue-white flash of 4 seconds duration. The report mentions that the Chanute AFB tower initially suggested the object was a Russian satellite re-entering the atmosphere and that they intended to attempt to photograph it during a predicted recurrence at 0900Z on 3 July. Despite these conflicting internal notes, the official conclusion recorded on the ATIC form is that the description is characteristic of a meteor. The document includes the witness's completed U.S. Air Force Technical Information Sheet, which provides specific details regarding the witness's location, the weather conditions (clear with small patches of ground fog), and the witness's own assessment that the object was 'probably a meteor or nose cone entering the atmosphere.'