Project 10073 Record Card — San Bernardino, California, 1 March 1961

On March 1, 1961, at approximately 1900 local time, a 16-year-old student in San Bernardino, California, observed an unidentified aerial object. The witness, whose report was deemed reliable by military evaluators, described the object as appearing slightly larger than the planet Venus. The object was initially golden in color, shifted to a pinkish-white hue while overhead, and returned to gold before disappearing. The witness estimated the object's elevation at approximately 20 degrees above the western horizon, moving toward the eastern horizon, where it was eventually lost to view, possibly behind a mountain. The total duration of the sighting was approximately three minutes. The report was transmitted via military channels as an incoming message to the Department of the Air Force. Military analysts at the Air Technical Intelligence Center (ATIC) evaluated the report and concluded that the object was likely an aircraft. They calculated that if the object were at an altitude of eight miles, it would have required a ground speed of 573 knots to traverse the observed path in three minutes, a speed well within the capabilities of contemporary jet aircraft. The bright white light observed on the bottom of the object was attributed to standard aircraft lighting. The report notes that the witness's family members corroborated the account, and the witness was described as being above average in intelligence and not prone to imaginative or irresponsible reporting. The document also references a briefing on Project MOONDUST, suggesting the possibility that this report was considered relevant to that program.