Project 10073 Record Card — Maracaibo, Venezuela, 12 November 1960

This document archive details a sighting of an unidentified flying object reported by a group of U.S. citizens in Maracaibo, Venezuela, on the evening of November 12, 1960. The witnesses, who were gathered for a fish bake, observed a bright object in the sky traveling in a North-Northeasterly direction between 7:00 PM and 7:05 PM local time. They noted that while the object's exact elevation could not be determined, it appeared relatively close to the earth compared to the moon or stars. The report was initially forwarded by the North American Air Defense Command (NORAD) to the Aerospace Technical Intelligence Center at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base. Following an evaluation of the report, military intelligence concluded that the sighting was likely the United States satellite Echo I. This conclusion was based on orbital data confirming that Echo I was indeed over Venezuela at the time of the reported sighting and that its trajectory aligned with the witnesses' observations. The military correspondence indicates that the witnesses were to be informed of this finding, effectively closing the investigation into the incident.