Project 10073 Record Card — Sault Ste Marie, Michigan, 24 November 1960

This document comprises a series of military communications and a Project 10073 record card detailing an Unidentified Aerial Phenomena (UAP) sighting that occurred on November 24, 1960, near Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan. The primary witness, a 16-year-old male, reported observing a round, orange object, comparable in size to a large star or Venus, moving at high speeds with a zig-zag flight path. The witness described the object as stopping and starting, and noted that it exhibited lateral motions before fading into the distance. The total duration of the observation was approximately one and a half minutes. The witness reported no sound, exhaust, or tail trail associated with the object. Following the initial report, the Air Technical Intelligence Center (ATIC) requested further clarification from the K.I. Sawyer Air Force Base regarding the duration of the sighting, the number of stops, and the manner of the object's disappearance. The military investigation, led by F/L Robert L. Holland and reviewed by Major Robert J. Friend, concluded that the sighting was likely an optical illusion. The report suggests that a weather balloon launched from Bismarck, North Dakota, could have been the source of the sighting. The investigators posited that a temperature inversion in the atmosphere created a 'shimmer effect,' which caused the balloon to appear as if it were zig-zagging and stopping, despite its actual steady flight path. The document includes detailed meteorological data and flight path calculations to support this conclusion, noting that the balloon would have averaged 27 knots over the distance. The reporting officer emphasized that the witness was interviewed at length and appeared calm and rational, showing no signs of hysteria or excitement. The correspondence concludes with the official determination that the phenomenon was likely a weather balloon, effectively closing the investigation into the incident.