Project 10073 Record Card: Sighting Report 29 Dec 60

On December 29, 1960, at 1000Z, the crew of Pan America flight 704, a Boeing 707 en route from Sydney to Nandi, observed an unidentified object at coordinates 23S 173E. The object was sighted at an altitude of approximately 35 degrees, moving from the north-northwest to the south-southeast. The witnesses described the object's brightness as comparable to that of Venus and noted that its intensity did not vary, which they contrasted with the behavior of a meteorite burning up in the atmosphere. The object eventually disappeared behind a cloud deck at an altitude of approximately 15 degrees. The duration of the sighting was not recorded. The report was subsequently evaluated by ATIC in December 1961. The evaluators noted that while the object was reported as a satellite, no specific check was conducted to confirm satellite presence in the area at that time. The report mentions the possibility of the object being the re-entry of Discoverer III, which occurred on that date, or potentially a meteor. Due to the lack of duration data and other specific details, the investigation concluded that there was insufficient data for a definitive evaluation.