Project 10073 Record Card — Vandenberg AFB, 22 Feb 61

On February 22, 1961, at approximately 1700 PST, a sighting of an unidentified aerial phenomenon occurred at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. The event was observed by two independent witnesses: a weather forecaster from DET 33 WEAWG and an officer from the 1st Missile Division. The witnesses described the object as a bright, burning entity with a greenish-yellow flame that flashed intermittently. The object was observed at an elevation of 15 to 20 degrees above the horizon, traveling from east to west. Because the sighting occurred during daylight hours while the sun was well above the horizon, the phenomenon was clearly visible to the observers. The incident was formally documented under Project 10073 and categorized under the MOON DUST programme. Despite the presence of two independent observers, the official record indicates that the report was incomplete, specifically lacking details regarding the duration of the sighting, the speed of the object, and its specific flight characteristics. Consequently, the evaluating agency, ATIC, classified the incident as having insufficient data for a definitive evaluation, noting that while the observers should have been familiar with common aerial objects, the missing information prevented a conclusive identification.