Project 10073 Record Card and CIRVIS Report — Thule AB, Greenland, 6 November 1960

On November 6, 1960, at 1155 GMT, personnel stationed at Thule Air Base, Greenland, reported an unidentified aerial phenomenon. The object was described as orange and yellow, appearing roughly half the size of a dime from the ground. It was observed moving on a heading of 20 degrees magnetic, exhibiting erratic flight behavior including slowing down, stopping, speeding up, and making 90-degree turns. The sighting lasted for approximately five minutes. The observers, identified as employees of RCA working on the BMEWS project, were standing in front of BMEWS Mess Building S-107 at the time of the incident. Weather conditions at the time included 9/10 cloud cover, 10-mile visibility, and light snowfall. Official reports noted that a rawinsonde balloon had been released by the base weather section at 1100Z, which would have reached an altitude of approximately 40,000 feet by the time of the sighting. The official conclusion reached by the reporting officer was that the object was likely this weather balloon, with its appearance potentially altered by the sun's rays hitting it at that altitude. No photographs or radar confirmation of the object were obtained. The incident was documented through a series of incoming staff messages and a Project 10073 record card, which circulated the report to various military commands, including CINCNORAD and the Air Tech Intelligence Center.