Project 10073 Record Card and Related Correspondence — Misawa, Japan, July 1960

This document collection details a sighting of an unidentified aerial phenomenon that occurred on July 5, 1960, near Misawa Air Base, Japan. The initial report, filed on a Project 10073 record card, describes a white luminous cloud observed at an estimated altitude of 36,000 feet, moving slowly from the northwest to the southeast. After approximately five minutes, the cloud appeared to spread at the center, revealing a bright reddish-orange ball, roughly the size of a basketball, with flames shooting from its sides. The object subsequently assumed a doughnut-like shape with a dark center, maintaining this configuration for about four minutes before disappearing on a course due east of Misawa.

Follow-up communications, including messages under Project Moon Dust, indicate that the incident was subject to extensive reinterviews of eleven USAF policemen and one Japanese security guard. These reinterviews confirmed that while some witnesses initially reported two balls, the consensus was that only one reddish-orange ball appeared. One American witness, identified as an amateur astronomer, noted that he did not see the object until the reddish-orange ball had subsided and the cloud had assumed its doughnut shape. He initially mistook the phenomenon for a spiral nebula.

The official conclusion reached by the investigating authorities was that the sighting was caused by a weather balloon that reached an altitude sufficient to cause it to explode. The observed phenomena, including the luminous cloud and the reddish-orange ball, were attributed to water vapor released during the explosion. The report notes that the cloud was illuminated by the moon and that the wind direction was consistent with the object's movement. A subsequent memorandum from Colonel Richard R. Shoop, dated July 12, 1960, requested an evaluation of these reports to determine if a satellite or carrier was responsible for the sightings, referencing specific message numbers T60-23691, T60-23728, T60-23495, and 23496.